Catch and Release
by Amentet
Summary: She found herself an unwilling player in his sick, demented game. Now, someone else has taken notice...and they want to play.
1. Chapter 1

**Catch and Release**

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**Chapter 1**

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It all seemed to be part of some sick, twisted game. Through some cruel, sadistic twist of fate, she had found herself playing along as a most unwilling participant. It was best not to think about the consequences should she decide to forfeit, or worse, lose outright to her opponent. It was best just to do what was being demanded of her in the current situation and pray to God that she would live to see the game's conclusion no matter how unlikely that seemed at the moment. Playing, at the very least, was a better alternative in her mind than giving in to the despair that threatened to overwhelm her. Her strength and resolve, however, were waning with each new round and she found herself fearing that she would be unable to play much longer.

"Fuck!" The man cursed as he emptied himself inside of her abused body. Lifting himself off of her with a grunt, he casually tucked himself back into his pants and watched in amusement as she struggled painfully to right what little clothing he had allowed her to keep in exchange for playing with him. "You're such a pretty, little Bunny."

The bruised and battered woman, dressed in nothing but a pair of blue panties and a matching camisole, flinched away from the man's calloused hand in both fright and disgust as he reached down to stroke the filthy, novelty rabbit ears that had been affixed to her head. She looked up at the man who owned the hand, her face red and puffy from both tears and exertion. "Please…"

The man grinned down at her, his nicotine stained teeth eerily yellow in the pale moonlight. His eyes, dark and feral, bored back into her own. "Please, what?"

The woman ducked her head, unable to meet his predatory gaze any longer, causing her tangled mess of brown hair to fall into her face. "Please…I…I don't want to play anymore."

An amused chuckle escaped the man as he continued to gently pet her. "Silly, Rabbit. What you want is irrelevant. You should understand that by now. This is my game. We stop playing when I say so."

"Please…" Her voice prickled with desperation that bordered on hysteria. "I just want to go home. I won't tell anyone, I swear." She felt the tears coming again but held them back. She didn't want a repeat of what had happened the first time she had lost control of her emotions. It had been the first time he had ran her down and caught her; the first time he had violently violated her body. She was certain, judging from the acute pull in her side, that he had cracked a couple of her ribs when he had severely disciplined her for breaking character. After all, he had reminded her when he was through, Bunnies don't cry. She choked as she tried to hold back a sob. "I can't do this anymore…"

"Aw, yes you can." The man continued to stroke the dirty rabbit ears attached to her head. "And if you're a really good Bunny, when we're all done playing I'll release you back into the wild."

The woman blinked up at him, unbelieving but desperate for any sliver of hope. "You'll…you'll let me go?"

"Only if you're a really good Bunny but you have to play by my rules." The man abruptly pulled his hand away took a few steps back from her, a wolfish smile tugging at his lips. "I'll tell you what; I'll even give you a head start this time. I'll give you until the count of ten."

A look of unbridled terror crossed the woman's face. "No…please, not again…"

Closing his eyes, the man began to count. "One…"

"Please!" A desperate sob escaped the woman. "I can't…"

"Two…"

"God, please!" The woman's voice came out in a strangled cry.

"Three…"

"Please, stop!" The woman struggled unsteadily to stand. Her tired, aching legs threatened to pull her back down to the ground. "Why are you doing this?"

"You're funny, Bunny." A ghost of a smile pulled at the man's lips as he bent to retrieve the rifle that lay at his feet. "Four…"

"Oh, my God…" The woman stumbled as she turned to run. The sharp stones and sticks that littered the forest floor cut into her bare feet as she scrambled to get out of the small clearing. She could still hear him counting over the pounding of her furiously beating heart.

"Five…"

Her instinct for self-preservation took over. She ran blindly through the trees and brush as fast as her abused body would allow her to go. The only thought in her head was of escape. She wasn't certain how she had ended up in this scenario. She wasn't even exactly sure of where she was or how she had gotten there for that matter. All she really remembered was making her way back through the darkened parking lot toward her car after a night of fun and games with friends at the local carnival. The next moment she had been waking up, bound and gagged, in the flatbed of a truck with a strange man looming over her and those stupid rabbit ears tied to her head.

She tried to push the foggy memories out of her head. There were much more important things that she needed to be focusing on, the most important thing being her continued survival. She could sort through what exactly had transpired later…if she lived that long. There was some way out of this situation. There had to be. Her very life depended on it.

"Ready or not, here I come!"

The sound of the man's voice echoing off the trees that surrounded her caused her to freeze in terror. She held her breath as she did her best to try to figure out which direction the voice had come from. She had always loved the outdoors but the one thing she had always hated about the forest was how easy it was to get turned around and lose one's bearings. The very last thing she wanted was to end up running back into her hunter's clutches.

The sound of twigs snapping and leaves crunching off to her right caught her attention. Her breathing quickened as adrenaline flooded her veins and her body went on high alert. Uncertain of whether she should try to run or hide, she remained frozen in place, terrified and completely unable to move. The noise came nearer, rousing her out of her petrified state and made the decision for her. Too late to run, she quickly hunched down into the thick, tangled overgrowth, making herself as small as humanly possible and praying her wouldn't see her.

"Shhh…" The man eased himself through the trees. "Be vewy, vewy quiet. I'm hunting wabbit." He giggled like a disturbed child. "Isn't this fun, Bunny?"

She stifled a cry as the man moved passed her within inches of her face, apparently oblivious to her as she cowered at his feet. As quietly as she could, she maneuvered herself backwards on all fours as the man put a bit of distance between them. The urge to run was strong but she forced herself to wait. If she moved too soon he was certain to catch her.

"I know you're here somewhere, Bunny." The man stopped walking and turned around slowly in place as if scenting the air for her. He made a kissing sound one would use to call a dog. "Come here, little Bunny. Come out, come out wherever you are. I have something for you." He chuckled to himself as he pumped a round into his high-powered rifle.

The woman saw that as her cue and practically exploded out of the brush at a full out run in the opposite direction. Fueled entirely by adrenaline and sheer will power, she sprinted through the trees like a woman possessed. She was entirely unaware of the branches that lashed her face and the rocks that cut into her feet. Her desire to live, to survive, trumped all of the physical pain at the moment. Self-preservation was foremost in her mind.

"Woohoo!" The man gave a whoop of glee at seeing his prey move out into the open. "I knew you'd make a good Bunny!" He brought his rifle up to his shoulder and fired.

The woman screamed and fell to the ground as the trunk of the tree directly to her left exploded outward into a million splinters of wood. Terror filled eyes looked up at the gaping hole and back in the direction the shot had come from. Realization that the game was in its final round dawned on her. She also realized with some trepidation that her chance of being released back into the wild at this point was very, very slim.

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**End of Chapter 1**

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	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: I guess I shall allow the Plot Bunny to live for a while longer. I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to read this and drop me a review. It really motivates me. **

**Edited 3-30-10**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Predator. I own 'Bunny' and the crazy guy.**

Catch and Release

Chapter 2

It was the crack of gunfire that shattered the serenity of the night and instantly caught his attention. The lone Hunter, perched high on a branch that made up one of the larger trees in the forest, sat the trophy he was preparing carefully aside and stood. He cocked his head to the side causing his long, banded locks to fall over his shoulders as he listened closely for any further sound of weapon fire. He was mildly disappointed when the only sound to reach him was the nervous chattering of the forest's inhabitants.

He rumbled deeply in his chest. He was certain he had not mistaken the sound. He was well acquainted with the antiquated projectile weaponry oomans tended to arm themselves with. Undeterred, he gracefully swung himself down into the lower branches of the tree and scented the air. An exicited trill escaped him before he could contain it. It was as he had suspected, the acrid scent of spent gun powder carried on the breeze. To the Hunter, that meant only one thing: fair game was near.

The Hunter pulled himself easily back up through the branches to his makeshift campsite to retrieve his gear. His mandibles curled in what passed as a grin for his kind. This was an unexpected but welcome opportunity for some much needed entertainment before he had to embark on the long, boring trip back to his clan ship. Already the anticipation of the chase had his blood thundering through his veins as he strapped on his armor. Hunting oomans was a game of skill and strategy. It was never the same game twice and he loved to play.

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He moved fluidly through the canopy of trees, silent and deadly. His eyes and ears were trained on his surroundings as he systematically searched for the source of the gunshot he had heard earlier. Anticipation had him practically purring as he launched himself from one branch to the next. The search for suitable prey was, after all, half the fun.

The sound of crunching leaves and rustling foliage below him gave him pause. He immediately halted all movement. He balanced, unmoving in one of the tall conifer trees. His camouflage blended him perfectly into the boughs of the shady tree, no one searching the branches with their naked eyes would be any wiser of his presence. He tensed as the sound drew nearer, awaiting the moment when his prey made itself known and the hunt could really begin.

What came slipping between the trees and into his line of sight was not what he had expected, however. The first thing he noticed was the heavy stench of fear that seemed to radiate off the figure in waves. It was a scent he was very familiar with, as he was most always its cause. More often than not, it was an aroma he savored. The sheer terror this being emitted, however, was almost enough to choke even a seasoned Hunter such as himself.

It was more than just the creature's fright that bothered him. There was another vaguely familiar scent that he couldn't quite place. It was something that stroked the baser parts of his brain, causing something to stir within him. It both disturbed him and piqued his curiosity. Gunshots momentarily forgotten, he silently followed the creature; keeping watch over it from his elevated vantage point.

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She wasn't sure when she had gotten to her feet after the shot he fired at her or when she had started running like a bat out of hell. The only two things she was even remotely aware of was the burning sensation in her chest as her lungs struggled to suck in more oxygen to fuel her flight and the scalding hot tears that burned a path down her dirty cheeks. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, she was also vaguely aware of him calling to her, encouraging her to move faster, to make the game more challenging.

"Run, Rabbit!" The man's maniacal laughter echoed eerily through the trees as he loped happily along after his fleeing prey. "RUN, RABBIT!"

_Rabbit_. That's all she was to him, she knew. She had been completely dehumanized in is eyes. The grimy rabbit ears affixed to her head confirmed to her that she was nothing more than an animal...a Bunny, for him to play with, to hunt. She suddenly wished there was a rabbit hole big enough for her to scurry into to hide from her pursuer. She wouldn't be able to keep up her pace much longer.

She could feel herself wearing down. Her punished body and fevered mind were reaching the breaking point. She wasn't sure how long she had been out here playing this sick game of cat and mouse but it was definitely taking its toll on her both physically and mentally. She was completely and totally exhausted.

She needed to get her bearings. Her eyes darted back and forth across her path as she she slowed to a trot. There had to be somewhere she could hide. She knew that the only thing running haphazardly through the forest was going to get her was dead. She needed to regroup her thoughts and formulate some plan of escape.

In the periphery, she spied what appeared to be a small, natural rock formation surrounded tightly by trees off to her left. It was big enough to hide her, she decided, at least until she could catch her breath. She quickly veered toward it. Leaping clumsily over a fallen log in her path and stumbling slightly, she crouched down and took shelter behind the stony outcrop.

She gasped to catch her breath and her battered body practically screamed it's relief at being granted a refrain from the torture it had been forced to endure since this nightmare began however long ago. She let her red, swollen eyes drift shut. It was only for a minute or two, she told herself. She would only rest for a moment. Then, she would figure a way out of this. She would get away from him. She would find her way out of the forest. Most importantly, she would get those damn rabbit ears off her head. Right now, however, she was so, so tired.

To be continued...

**Thanks so much to all those who reviewed!**

**Solosan- Your review was both frightening and flattering, lol. I'm really glad you enjoyed the first chapter and I'm also praying you don't hunt me down and kill me in my sleep. I hope you like this chapter, too. Thanks so much for reviewing! =) **

**Citizen Cobalt- Yes, the guy is a little insane...and he's only going to get more so. Have you ever seen the show 'Most Evil'? I loosely modeled his personality after one of the serial killers the show was talking about one night. He liked to dress up his victims and 'play' with them before he did his thing, so yeah...the guy in this story very well may be one. Thanks for reading and thanks for the review! **

**tain89- Thank you! I'm happy you liked it. Things are going to get much worse for the 'Bunny' before they start to get better. As for the pred...you'll have to wait and see. Thanks for reviewing! **

**Feed back is always appreciated. Should I continue or no? **

**Amentet**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Predator. I do, however, still own Bunny and the Crazy Guy.**

**Edited 4-2-10**

Catch and Release

Chapter 3

"Hop along, little Bunny! Hop, hop, hop..." The man couldn't stop the broad smile that split his face as he quietly and carefully trekked through the woods in the direction his prey had fled. It was a beautiful night and he was having a wonderfully good time. If there was one thing he loved more than anything else in life, it was hunting.

He liked to think he took after his late Father in that regard. Father had always been an avid hunter. Father had, in fact, taught him everything he knew about hunting. As a young boy, Father had often taken him along on his outdoor excursions in an attempt to make him more of a man. During these Father/Son bonding trips he had been taught how to properly handle a rifle, how to identify and track prey, how to spot a good trophy piece to take home and hang on the wall...

It had been good times, just him and Father, doing what fathers and sons did together. In fact, if he really thought about it, those trips they took together were the only good times he could ever remember sharing with his Father. It seemed that the only time Father was sober and not raving and lashing out at anything within striking distance was when he was in the forest, rifle in hand, tracking his next kill.

Of course, Father had never hunted Bunnies. No, no, no...God forbid. Father had preferred to hunt much more docile prey. Father had limited himself to deer, squirrels, and if he were lucky, the occasional bear that wandered into his sights. And, for a while, that had been perfectly okay. He had been content to accompany Father on his hunting trips and go through the motions. It had been fun in the beginning, an adventure, a refreshing reprieve from the daily drolls of life in a home that would have made the most dysfunctional of families look like the goddamn Brady Bunch.

Soon, however, he found himself growing bored of Father's choice of game. After all, he decided, it wasn't as if a deer could pick up a rifle and shoot back. Squirrels, he knew, definitely lacked the capacity to strategize, and bears, while certainly a foe to be reckoned with, fell quite easily with one well-placed bullet. There was no skill involved, no...challenge. Just point and shoot. Nothing more. Nothing less. He felt void and unfufilled. It was then he decided that the Hunt needed to expand to include a more sporting lineup.

Father, of course, hadn't understood his need for a more challenging target. Father never understood his needs. Instead, Father did what he always did when faced with his son's many quirks and deviations. He chose to belittle and degrade as if pointing out his personality flaws could change what was. He could still hear Father's words rattling around inside his head.

_"You fucked up little shit! What the fuck is wrong with you? I should have made your Mama get an abortion the second I found out she got knocked up! Sick, fucking bastard...!"_

The man's smile widened as he remembered. It still felt like yesterday to him. Good times...just him and Father...

_"What are ya gonna do with that, huh? You think you're a big man? You fucking pussy. You don't have the balls..."_

The man giggled. His Father always did have such a wonderful sense of humor. Take for example, the comical look on Father's face when the slug from the rifle impacted with his skull, taking a good chunk of his scalp with it and splattering the surrounding trees with blood and brains. Yes, Father had been such a riot.

The memories faded and the man stopped walking and spun carefully around in place as he took in his surroundings. He strained his eyes and ears for any sign of his Bunny. His lips twitched. He knew this Bunny was a special one. He knew the moment he had spotted her hopping around with the other little Bunnies at the carnival that he had to have her. He only hoped that his Bunny was having as wonderful of a time as he was.

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More and more curious, the Hunter watched as the ooman scurried behind some jutting rocks and crouched down behind them. From his short distance he could see that the creature wasn't armed and so obviously wasn't responsible for the gunfire he had heard earlier. However, judging from the stench of fright the thing gave off, he was fairly certain it had probably encountered whomever had fired off the shot. He could think of no other reason for the ooman to be so terrified.

He continued to observe it for a moment from the dark depths of the branches. Slowly, he noted it's muscles had begun to relax ever so slightly. The tension in it's body seemed to ease minutely and it's head sank to lean against it's chest. The only indication the thing was even still alive was the ragged breathing his sensitive hearing picked up over the sound of the slight breeze that rustled the leaves surrounding him.

Deciding he wanted to get a closer look while given the opportunity, he descended from his perch in the trees and dropped silently to the ground. He approached the still figure cautiously, ever vigilant for any sign of threat or hostility. Oomans, he knew from experience, could be extremely devious creatures, using cunning and deception to gain the upper hand against foes. He need not have worried, however. Towering over the huddled ooman, he saw that it had drifted off into a fitful sleep. The strange gurgling and whimpering sounds it made caused his mandibles, hidden behind his mask, to twitch uncomfortably.

He knelt down carefully next to it and allowed his eyes to wander over the unmoving body. At first glance, he found nothing impressive about the creature. It carried no weapons to defend itself with. It was barely clothed. It was filthy and every inch of it's body seemed to be covered with either dried blood or bruises. It reeked of earth and blood and fright. It was a truly pitiful specimen and most unworthy to hunt. It was hardly worthy of his scrutiny at all.

He trilled softly as his gaze landed on the creature's breasts, covered only by a thin, gauzy material that seemed to be more suited for attracting a mate than for a romp in the wilderness. He felt something in his gut twist unpleasantly. It was female? He leaned forward toward the ooman and inhaled deeply. He couldn't stop the instinctive purr that rumbled forth from deep within his chest. Yes...it was definitely female.

He rocked back on his heels, both curious and troubled. He had never seen an ooman female up close before, only from a considerable distance as he was usually much too preoccupied with hunting the males of the species. He was a bit intrigued by his find. After a careful visual comparison he decided the female didn't seem too terribly different than females of his own kind...a bit smaller perhaps, but that was all.

His allowed his eyes to drift to the ooman's face. The strange make-up of their faces never failed to amaze him. Their too-big eyes, protruding olfactory organ, and fleshy mouths were fascinating to him. He readily admitted that oomans weren't the most beautiful creatures he had ever run across but neither did he find them as repulsive looking as some of his brethren seemed to. They were simply odd, different. He believed their oddness was one of the reasons he liked hunting them so much. They were different than the Yautja in so many ways, yet alike in so many others. Simply amazing...for a prey animal.

He studied the female's face for another moment before lifting his eyes to the top of her head. His own head tilted in question as he examined the ear-like headdress she wore. He rumbled quietly in confusion. He immediately recognized the ears as belonging to the small, furry mammals that inhabited the forest. In fact, he had dined on them on more than one occasion. They were delicious. Why, he wondered, would a female ooman be dressed up to look like a smaller food animal? He reached toward her carefully, not wanting to startle her and cause her to bolt off into the surrounding woods. Ever more curious, he gently touched the material on her head with his long, taloned fingers.

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She sat up with a gasp. She had fallen asleep. Her heart was pounding so hard that she feared it may actually beat its way out through her rib cage. Her arms flew instinctively to cover her head. Eyes wide, she looked about herself frantically. She was certain he had found her. She had expected him to be looming over her with his rifle cocked and that sick smile on his face but there was no one. She was all alone.

She started a bit as some leaves drifted down from the tree above her to land on top of her head...on top of those damned ears. She shuddered. That was probably what she had felt. The branch above her head creaked ever so slightly. She craned her neck back to peer up into the boughs of the tree. It was dark but she thought she saw something shift ever so slightly. It was hard to tell since even the full moon had a difficult time piercing the thick canopy of leaves. Still, she was certain something up there had moved.

"Squirrels..." She shook her head and peeked out from around her rock. There was no sign of the deranged lunatic that was stalking her. She felt a surge of hope that perhaps she had lost him or that he had gotten bored with the game and just left her in the woods. That was unlikely, she knew. People as insane as the man appeared to be rarely gave up and walked away. She had seen enough movies to know that much. He was still out there. She could feel it.

Gingerly, she stood. She winced as she hobbled out from her hiding spot. The lacerated soles of her feet protested at having to bear her weight. She knew she had to move around, though. If she sat too long she would get so stiff and sore she wouldn't be able to move at all. She stretched carefully, wincing as her back popped loudly. One had to be limber when running for one's life.

She moved slowly, shaking out her cramped limbs and working out the many kinks in her body. As she walked, she contemplated her situation. She knew that the odds were most definitely against her. She had absolutely no idea where she was for starters. She was playing a demented version of hide-and-seek with an unstable maniac who would most certainly kill her at the next given opportunity. She was barely clothed. She had nothing to defend herself with. The list went on and on.

She sighed and leaned against a tree. Her hands went to her head and she tugged at the rabbit ears. She wasn't certain, but she would have bet money that he had super glued the damned things to her head. The pain in her scalp when she tried to pull the headband off more or less confirmed it. She dropped her hands to her sides. She was wasting time. She knew she needed to keep moving if she had any chance of getting out of this alive.

Her mind drifted back to the camping trips she used to take with her Grandpa when she was just a little girl. It was always the highlight of her summer and she had always looked forward to them with excitement. Together they would set up a tent, build bonfires, fish, she would swim. Some of her happiest summers were spent with her Grandpa on these little excursions. Sometimes he would tell her things he had learned from the trips he had taken with his father and, as much as she had adored her grandfather, she took all his words to heart.

_"Remember this, Ladybug...If you ever get lost out here by yourself just look up to the sky. The Big Dipper always points north..."_

North. It sounded like a good enough direction to her. After all, she reasoned, this was America. Damn near everywhere was industrialized to some extent. The forest couldn't go on forever. She would have to run into some sort of civilization eventually. Looking up to the stars, she picked out the constellation she was searching for, sent a silent 'thank you' up to her Grandpa in Heaven and set off in her chosen direction.

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The man moved confidently through the trees in search of his prey. He was practically giddy with excitement. This was a clever Bunny...much more elusive than any of the others he had hunted. He almost regretted having to bring the game to its inevitable conclusion. To have to take down such a magnificent animal was a shame. He did his best to console himself with the fact that he would always have a trophy to remind him of this hunt...just a little piece of Bunny to remember her by. Just like the others. It would have to be enough.

He paused and pulled a small flashlight out of his pocket. Turning it on, he shined the beam down onto the ground. The earth was soft from recent rain in the area. It didn't take him long to locate a set of Bunny's tracks. "Oh, boy! Wabbit twacks!" Giggling, he flicked the light off and continued on in the direction Bunny had gone. It was time he started wrapping things up.

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She heard it and her blood ran cold. The maniacal laughter seemed to bounce off of the trees around her. He was close. Damn her for falling asleep and losing her lead on him. She picked up her pace but couldn't shake the feeling that something was there, just over her shoulder, watching her. Ignoring the sensation, she kept moving.

"Did you hop this way, Bunny?!"

She inhaled sharply and pressed herself up against a tree. He sounded close...too close. She closed her eyes as the rustling of the foliage met her ears. He was here. She knew it without even looking.

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5! I caught a hare alive!" The man's sing-song voice echoed through the forest. "6, 7, 8, 9, 10! I let her go again!"

"Fuck..." She opened her eyes and looked around herself wildly. "Fuck, fuck, fuck..." Her eyes landed on a fairly sturdy looking piece of branch near her feet. She snatched it up quickly and cocked it back over her shoulder like someone would wield a baseball bat. She doubted it stood a chance against the man's rifle but it was better than nothing. At the very least she didn't feel quite so naked and defenseless with the weight of the branch in her hands.

"I know you're here somewhere, Hippity Hop!" The man pumped his rifle and whistled. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

Every muscle in her body screamed at her to run but she ignored them. She stood stock still with the piece of wood in a death grip. She could hear his movements getting closer. The only way out of this was for one of them to die. She knew that now. All she could think about was bashing his skull in and getting away when a strange trilling sound from above her caught her attention.

"What the hell is that?" She tipped her head back and squinted her eyes. The branches above her swayed slightly. The leaves dappled with moonlight made distinguishing anything overhead nearly impossible but she could see something move. There was definitely something up there...and it seemed much bigger than a squirrel.

To be continued...

**Author's Note: I hope this chapter met everyone's expectations. I want to send a huge thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I didn't think too many people would find this very interesting since it is a bit...different than a lot of the fics on here. You people have pleasantly surprised me (smile). **

**Blackrain7557- I was actually a bit worried that it was different than the normal fics. I'm glad you like it and I'm glad you find it disturbing! Thanks for reading and thanks for the review! **

**Daemonium Malledictum- I love the name, btw. I don't think this particular Yautja has ever run into a psychopath before. Its going to be an interesting experience I think. Thanks for reviewing! **

**Citizen Cobalt- I figured it wouldn't hurt for the 'Bunny' to have a little common sense. I hate stories (movies, books, tv shows, et.c.) where the female lead spends all their time running around screaming like an idiot. Our 'Bunny' is smarter than that, as you will soon see. As for the Crazy Guy, he may be going down but not without a fight... Thanks for reading and reviewing! **

**Shay-n-Sweet Pea Piratess- I just have to get this out of the way...that baby is adorable! I love babies. They're so squishy and cuddly. Thanks so much for the kind review. I'm happy that you find the story interesting and I'm glad you approve of my sicko Elmer Fudd, lol. Thanks for reading! **

**predator808- Thank you very much for reading and dropping me a review. I really appreciate it! **

**tain89- I'm glad you liked the new chapter. Our 'Bunny' is going to be a smart one, lol. The pred IS here and he is going to make his presence known really soon...it should be interesting. **

**Solosan- Well, I'm glad that this story excited you. Although...I still think I'll sleep with my light on, lol...just in case. Also, I do think I like the AN at the bottom. It saves people from having to read through all the crap to get to the story. I will also try not to be so 'humble'...I really can't help it. It's in my nature, lol. Anyway, thanks so much for the suggestions! A huge thank you for reading and reviewing! **

**QuickStar- Yes, this guy is sick. I hope this chapter shed a little light on just how sick he truly is. I'm not a hundred percent certain yet, but I don't think this pred is a bad blood. Regardless, I'm certain he will find a creative way to handle the situation. Thanks for reading and reviewing! **

**olpchick- Hmm...strange. Strange is good! I'll take that as a compliment, lol. I'm glad you like the story. Thanks so much for reading and I appreciate the review! **

**If I've forgotten anyone, I apologize. I am really sort of starting to get into this story. I'm already working on the next chapter and I hope to have it up soon. Thanks for taking the time to read! **

**Amentet**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: If you haven't already figured it out, I don't own Predator. I do own 'Bunny' and, unfortunately, the crazy guy**.

Catch and Release

Chapter 4

The man knew that his Bunny was close. He imagined he could almost hear the pitter patter of her heart thumping away in her chest. It was a sound that would soon cease. It was regrettable but necessary. That was how the game was played, after all. Of course, just because the chase ended didn't mean his job was done. Oh, no...there was much that still had to be done before he could truly claim a victory over his prey.

If hunting was his favorite thing to do, field dressing his kill came in a very close second. He prided himself on the care he took in preparing the carcass. He liked to think of it as his way of paying respect to the animal that had selflessly given it's life for his amusement. It was his final tribute, if you will. He figured it was the very least he could do.

He always came prepared on a hunt. Aside from his trusty Safari 550 DGR, which he had paid a pretty penny for, he came equipped with enough rope to string up his prize and his handy dandy Kommer Bez-Tine Skinner to take care of the messy work of cleaning the kill. He had also left his cooler back in his truck, packed full of ice, as well as assorted Tupperware containers and garbage bags for any bits and pieces of Bunny he deemed worthy of keeping.

He always liked to keep a small memento from all of his hunts. It was nice to have a little souvenir to look back on and remember the thrill of his past conquests. He had an entire room in his basement dedicated solely to his hunting trophies. He would spend hours down there at a time, running his fingers over his treasures, reliving the kill, and planning his next excursion. It was heaven.

The man's hand wandered to his neck where a necklace made from the teeth of his last Bunny hung. He smiled as he remembered the trouble he had encountered while trying to pry them free of the braces she had worn to straighten them. Of course, in his defense, she had still been conscious at the time and had bitten him quite hard on the meaty part of his hand, gnawing off a sizeable chunk and making his work much more difficult. He had the nasty looking scar to prove it. Still, it was worth it for the fine piece of jewelry he had been able to craft from them. She had had such nice teeth, such a pretty smile...

He paused in his trek though the woods. Bunny was so very close. It wouldn't be long now. A slight shift in the shadowy branches of a tree straight ahead of him caught his attention. His experience told him that whatever lurked in the tree was bigger than the average squirrel. An amused smirk pulled at his mouth. "Aren't you a clever Rabbit..."

Rifle at the ready, the man approached the tree. His smile faltered slightly as he drew near enough to the oak to hear the strange clicking sound that seemed to come from the tree itself. He tilted his head curiously. "Bunny?"

XXXXXXXXXX

"Come on now, Bunny Rabbit, I just want to play with you..."

The words instantly drew the woman's attention from the branches above her head to the much more immediate threat that happened to be closing in on her position. The man's shuffling moved closer to where she stood cloaked in the shadows of the large tree she had taken refuge under. She held her breath and tightened her grip on the stick she held.

"Is that you up there?" The man's voice had gone from confident to slightly confused. "Bunny?"

She barely registered that the strange trilling from above her had transformed into an soft growl. She inched forward, ever so slightly, and craned her neck around the trunk to see that the man had stopped moving and was now standing with his rifle aimed up into the branches of her tree. She eased back into the the cover the ancient oak provided and lifted her eyes to see what had captured his attention in time to see the same vague flicker of movement and the sudden bright flash of what may have been eyes.

"What the fuck is that?" She whispered the words to herself as unease coiled itself tightly in her belly and her mostly naked body erupted into goose flesh. Unsure of whether or not she should be more concerned about what was above her or the man with the gun, she quietly backed away from both, taking care not to make any sudden movements that might provoke whatever was in the tree and sticking to the darkness of the shadows so as not to alert the man hunting her.

Her breath caught in her throat as the shimmery thing in the tree seemed to shift almost as if it were watching her retreat. The feeling of unseen eyes on her made her skin crawl. The low growl coming from the thing seemed to vibrate the very air and became almost a questioning purr as she retreated farther from it's post.

"Alright, that's enough..." The woman watched as the man took a couple hesitant steps toward the old oak, his rifle held at the ready. "Come on down here. You're ruining the game..."

To be continued...

**Author's Note: I really am kinda getting into this story. I've already plotted out the conclusion in my mind. I'm pretty excited about it. Now I just have to get there, lol. I know this chapter was way short. I'm going to try really hard to make it up to you in the next one. I promise that the 'game' is about to get really interesting. I'm glad you guys are liking it...makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, haha. **

**FYI...a Safari 550 DGR is a Dangerous Game Rifle...people hunt elephants and stuff with it. Very powerful gun. A Kommer Bez-Tine Skinner is a hunting knife. I'm sure you can guess what that's used for... **

**Many thanks to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter: **

**Blackrain7557- Thanks for the review! Yes, the dude is creepy. He kinda creeps me out, actually...I'm sure he'll get what's coming to him eventually...hopefully before he finishes playing with 'Bunny'. **

**Shay-n-Sweet Pea Piratess- The guy is pretty messed up in the head. He's only going to get more deranged, I think. And yes, he definitely wouldn't think twice about killing the 'Bunny'. Also, I'm going to work on making my chapters longer. I tend to write in short bursts when creativity strikes, lol. **

**tain89- I think the reason the pred acted the way he did was because he thought 'Bunny' was kind of a strange thing to run across. He's probably been coming here to hunt for a really long time. It was the first time he came across something like this. He was curious. I wouldn't exactly call him a good guy (he is hunting oomans, after all) but he is probably for the most part a pretty honorable dude. I'll give him that much. **

**Solosan- Bunny! Bunny! Bunny! Don't worry...I have that stuck in my head, too, lol. Thanks so much for reading and thanks for the review! **

**QuickStar- Yep, he's a sicko. He glued them on because he wanted his 'Bunny' to stay in character. I'm glad the last chapter answered some of your questions. Thanks for reading! **

**Daemonium Malledictum- I've never had one of my stories "captivate" anyone before, lol. I'm really glad you like it! Thanks for reading and thanks for the review! **

**predator808- I'm glad you love the story! I hope you enjoyed the update!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: Wow...this is the 5th chapter and this story has 26 reviews. I am a bit impressed. I didn't think it would be received this well. I am stoked that you guys are enjoying it. I hope this chapter meets everyone's expectations. Also, I am going to try really hard to make the chapters longer since that seems to be everyone's main complaint (at least longer than the last one), but I can't say that about this chapter, unfortunately. It's kinda short too. I'm sorry. Forgive me. Without further ado, here's chapter 5! **

**Disclaimer: I still don't own 'Predator'. 'Bunny' and the Crazy Guy are mine =)**

Catch and Release

Chapter 5

There are times in life when one comes face-to-face with a situation that defies all human logic and rational thought. These are things so far away from the norm that, even when seen with one's own eyes, the mind has difficulty processing and accepting. There is a valid reason for human kind's deep-rooted fear of the unknown. It is a defense mechanism...a means to survival left over from mankind's earliest ancestors.

"Alright, that's enough. Come on down here. You're ruining the game..."

The woman desperately wished her own defense mechanisms would kick in as she continued to watch the scene that played out before her. Her eyes, alternately flitting back and forth from the man to the thing in the tree, were as wide as saucers. The fear she felt magnified tenfold and was almost palpable as the curious growling in the tree stopped at the man's words. Every one of her primal instincts screamed urgently at her to flee. There was no question in her mind that something utterly aberrant lurked amongst them but she couldn't pull herself away. She felt compelled to stay...to watch.

"Goddamn it! I am in charge here! This is MY hunt! We play by MY rules!" The man squinted up into the leaves his amused grin at the prospect of treeing his prey had quickly melted into an infuriated bearing of his teeth. He held his rifle in a deathgrip, his finger twitching restlessly on the trigger. "You hear me, bitch?! Get the fuck down here!"

There was a rustling in the leaves and the branch swayed as the great weight it held shifted followed quickly by what could only be described as a large, shifting shape landing on the ground a few yards away from the armed man. The impact from it's descent caused the dead leaves and dirt that littered the ground to be thrown up into a tiny cloud. It made a chittering sound as it straightened itself. This was obviously not something the man expected. His surprise shown on his face as he tried to comprehend this new development.

From the shadows, it was difficult for the woman to wrap her overtaxed mind around exactly what she was seeing. It wasn't completely unlike staring into a clear pool of water that had been disturbed. It rippled and flowed. It seemed to almost reflect its surroundings. The dappled moonlight filtering through the trees seemed to refract off of it, bend around it and give it more of a distinct shape. To the woman, it seemed to be in the shape of a man...a very large man. The tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood up and her insides knotted painfully. Somewhere, deep in her gut, she knew that this was something she should not be seeing.

Almost as if on cue, the shape began to crackle. Arcs of electic blue seemed to dance across it's surface, revealing in their wake mottled greenish-brown skin criss-crossed with what appeared to be coarse fishnet and protected in places with heavy, gun-metal gray armor. One thing was painfully obvious to both the man and the woman: This thing was NOT human.

The creature had to be at least seven and a half feet tall. It's large, sloped head sported thick, banded locks of what appeared to be it's hair that fell down passed it's broad, heavily armored shoulders. A blank, expressionless mask hid any facial features. A gun-like apparatus rested on one of it's shoulders and seemed to follow the creature's line of sight. Yet more armor adorned it's well-muscled chest and groin area, strategically placed to protect vital organs and preserve range of motion. Completeing it's intimidating ensemble were smaller, lighter looking pieces of armor encircling it's forearms and strapped to it's shins as well as a couple other wicked-looking accoutrements that could only be some sort of weaponry.

"Wh-what the hell?" The man's confusion crossed the border into fear as he took in the sight before him.

The woman gasped from her hiding place in the shadows. "Jesus Christ..."

"B-bunny...?" The man's head jerked in the direction of his prey's exclaimation and back to the terrifying creature that now stood before him. The barrel of his rifle visibly shook as he did his best to keep it trained on the horrifying thing before him. He swallowed the thick lump that had formed in his throat and did his best to steady his aim. No one, inhuman or otherwise, was going to intimidate him. He was a hunter after all, an avid sportsman. The game would go on. "What the fuck are you? What do you want?"

The large, masked creature tilted it's head, taloned fingers flexing. "This is MY hunt. We play by MY rules."

"What?" The man jerked in surprise at hearing his own words replayed to him. He hardened his stance, bringing his rifle up to his shoulder. "I'm warning you, fucker. You don't know who you're messing with."

The creature shifted slightly. It's large head turned to look toward the frightened female that cowered in the shadows before slowly turning back to look at the male. A low rumble emanated from deep within it's chest. "You don't know who you're messing with."

"Shit..." Sweat began to bead on the man's forehead as his own words came back to him. This was not how the game was supposed to go. "I don't give a fuck who or what you are. I WILL shoot you."

The humanoid lowered it's massive head at the man's words. Three small lights in the shape of a triangle lit up on the thing's mask. The lights, apparently a targeting system of some kind, centered on the male's chest. The weapon on it's shoulder moved to level itself with the marks. "I WILL shoot you."

"Fuck you, motherfucker." The man's eye twitched as he continued to stare at the creature. His finger danced on the trigger of his rifle, a nervous smile stretched his lips. It would be so easy just to put a slug in the thing's gut and get on with business...

"HOLY SHIT!" Before the man could put thought into action, the ground in front of him seemed to explode in a burst of blue light. Dirt, rocks, and pieces of wood were hurled violently into the air only to rain back down in a torrent of filthy debris. Terror reared it's ugly head, then. The notion that he may be in over his head hit him like a ton of bricks. It happened so fast. Just like that, the rules to the game had changed in the span of a heartbeat and the man found himself running in fear for his life...not unlike the Bunnies he so avidly hunted for his own pleasure.

"Hop little Bunny, hop, hop, hop..." Deep, grating laughter rumbled out of the creature as the male's own words echoed after his fleeing form. The female momentarily forgotten, the Hunter stalked off in search of his prey. HIS hunt had officially begun.

To be continued...

**Sorry...I told you this was a short one, too. They should get longer as we get into more action and interaction. Thanks so much (as usual) to all those who took the time to review the last chapter:**

**Solosan- I would prefer a hug. If you strangle me I may never get this thing finished (smile). I'll get a little bit more into the pred's head in the next chapter or two. You're not too far off the mark...this is one "crazy ooman".**

**olpchick- Another short 'tease' of a chapter...but I'm going to try to do better.**

**tain89- The pred has come out of hiding. I hope this met your expectations!**

**Citizen Cobalt- This IS gonna be so cool! I believe we have a pred with a dark sense of humor. This should be fun...for the pred. Psycho Serial Dude is pretty much screwed at this point.**

**Insiss- I'm glad you like the story! I think a sick twist is good every once in a while. Not everything can be fluffy kittens and sunshine, ya know =)**

**QuickStar- THANK YOU! I'm glad you think I'm doing a good job keeping with the predator mystique. I try, I really do. Creepy is good!**

**Dark Angel of the Crimson Moon- Wow! That's a mouthfull! I'm glad you think the story is well written. I try to catch all my errors. If one happens to slip by me don't hesitate to point it out.**

**random hyper person (and crew)- Thanks! The crazy dude's mind is a scary, yet interesting thing to explore. I will probably work some gore in there somewhere. If there's any horrid, excruciatingly painful thing you'd like to see happen to the psycho give me a yell. I love suggestions! It spurs my creativity!**

**predator808- I hope you enjoyed the update. I would LOVE to do some artwork to go along with the story...the only problem is that I couldn't draw a straight line with a ruler if my life depended on it. However, if any artists out there feel so compelled, by all means, have at it!**

**Till next time, **

**Amentet**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: No matter how badly I wish it were true, I don't own Predator. Bunny and the Crazy Guy, on the other hand, belong to me, me, me =)**

Catch and Release

Chapter 6

Complete, paralyzing fear. Much like the proverbial 'deer in the headlights', whose instinctual behavior is meant to help it remain unnoticed by a potential predator, the woman found herself unable to move. Every inch of her body was rigid; every muscle fiber pulled achingly taut. Her heart thudded irregularly in her chest and adrenaline thundered through her veins washing her body in alternating feelings of hot and cold. Even as her mind screamed a warning of imminent danger her body refused to acknowledge the message. She was terrified that if she even so much as twitched that the wicked, fearsome-looking creature would turn its attention on her.

Thanks be to whatever God resided above that it seemed occupied with the rifle-wielding madman, going so far as to taunt him, almost playfully, with his own words. Despite the sheer terror of her position, she was surprised to find the smallest spark of dark satisfaction enter her consciousness at seeing the fear enter into the man's wild eyes. It pleased her in a twisted, sick way to know that she was no longer alone in being scared out of her mind. She had always heard that turnabout was fair play but in this instance, karma was apparently a conniving, vindictive bitch.

It wasn't until after the monster, which was as accurate of a label she was able to put on the unidentified humanoid, fired a shot from the cannon on its shoulder at the human monster that had abducted her that she found herself able to move. Logic and planning flew instantly out the window when the concussion of the creature's shoulder mounted weapon echoed through the eerily silent forest. Any doubt she may have had about the creature's intent was cleared up in that single, mortifying instant.

The scream tore its way out of her throat, long and loud, before she could even think to stop it. Fresh fear gathered itself into a tight knot in her chest. With the flash of the blast still imprinted on her retinas, she found herself running blindly through the forest with her arms outstretched in front of her to prevent collision with any trees that may have decided to jump out into her path.

There was no set course, no destination in mind. She just needed desperately to put some distance between herself and certain madness. The vast stretch of trees seemed never ending. Each dark, gnarled trunk she passed seemed identical to the one previous. Instead of getting closer to freedom...or at least farther from certain death, she felt as though she were being sucked deeper into a smothering abyss that she feared she may never emerge from. Her will to live, however strong, was gradually weakening against its battle with the ever-growing pit of despair in her gut.

This new variable in the game of survival had thrown her for a loop. Any confidence she had at the prospect of escape had evaporated the moment the creature briefly turned its massive head and looked at her. Despite being unable to see its face, she could tell there was a great intelligence there; a ruthless, primal sort of cunning. There was also something in its stance and the tilt of its head that told her it had played this game many times before and that its experience in such matters far exceeded that with which she was familiar. It was at that moment that she knew the rules had changed and that her level of expertise, and that of her pursuer, was far outmatched.

Her greatest fear now was not of dying a particularly gruesome death at the hands of a psychopath. She was now scared of the possibility of having to choose between the better of two evils. Would her fate have been better off in the clutches of a lunatic or in the taloned hands of this new 'player'? Would she have perhaps been better off forfeiting the 'game' and allowing her stalker to cull her or would this creature show her mercy? Was this alien creature even capable of mercy? Of compassion? Did it matter? Did any of it really matter? She was just a Bunny, after all...

She plodded along at a trot for what seemed like forever until she hit the verge of collapse. Her exhausted, abused body finally gave in to her brain's demand for rest and she tumbled to the ground in a tangled heap as her knees buckled. She hit the uneven ground with its protruding roots and litter of stones hard and rolled. A whoosh of air escaped her lungs as she crashed, none to gently, into a large tree and came to a stop. The bare flesh of her back and shoulders took most of the impact and she could feel the burn from the abrasions the bark had made.

Groaning, she pushed herself up onto her bloody knees. The metallic tang of blood filled her mouth where she had bitten down on her tongue as she fell and she hawked a red glob of spittle onto the ground in front of her. Gingerly, she tried to get back on her feet, only to wobble and plop back down on her butt. She had pushed herself to the limit. She couldn't go on. The tears came then, hard and fast and hot. There was no holding them back anymore.

XXXXXXXXXX

When he was a young pup, his Sire had once told him that a good Hunter relies heavily on instinct. He had taken that bit of advice to heart as he grew into an adult and could say with honesty that his Sire had been correct. His instincts had never steered him wrong. That tiny voice in his head had seen him successfully through his Chiva and many more tight situations than he could count. He had quickly learned to sit up and pay attention when that nudge to his consciousness came...and it had been demanding his full attention since he had run across the female.

Something was obviously off about the entire scenario. A female does not run around in a forest in the middle of the night, barely clothed, and stinking of fear for no reason. The arrival of the armed male who was obviously stalking the female clarified the situation in his mind. The realization that the male was obviously conducting his own bastardized version of a hunt caused him anger. What satisfaction was there in hunting a completely terrified, unarmed female?

His Sire had constantly drilled into him that there were rules, a Code of Honor, that applied to all things in life. There were rules that governed his Clan, rules that controlled social and business interaction, rules for mating...that must be followed explicitly if one hoped to amount to anything in this lifetime. The most important Code, however, applied to the hunt; the collection of trophies that bestowed Honor upon the Hunter and in turn earned him other rights and privileges.

It was also the _duty_ of an Honored Hunter to correct deviations from the Code when they were found if it was within their ability to do so. The male, although ooman, had most certainly deviated from the most fundamental of rules: His chosen Game was off limits. Hunting a much smaller, weaker, and obviously defenseless female was an enormous indescretion. Being an honorable Hunter, regardless of the male's species, he could not let it go.

XXXXXXXXXX

The man huddled next to an old, fallen tree trunk, his rifle clutched against his chest. Fear was not something he was used to. Oh sure, he didn't mind inflicting terror on others. In fact, he relished it. It was what made what he did exciting and worthwhile. There was nothing quite like it.

Seeing the terror in the eyes of a Bunny when he finally caught them for the final time and knowing that he was the cause gave him a sense of power beyond anything else he had ever experienced. For that moment in time he was God. He was the giver of life...and the harbringer of death. He was their entire universe. The control he had over them was exhillarating. The surge of pure, uninhibited pleasure he felt when they knew their time was up was explosive. It went passed sexual to boder on the spiritual. It was intoxicating, all consuming. Merely thinking of it caused a surge of warmth to flow through his loins and a feral grin to twitch at his lips.

The creature that had shot at him slipped from his mind as he relived some of his more memorable expeditions in his mind. He became so enthralled in his own memories that the tightness in the crotch of his pants forced him to stand up on shaking legs to adjust himself . If only he hadn't been interrupted. He would be alone with his Bunny right now, stringing her up, slicing his sharpened knife through her soft, pliant flesh, watching her cooling blood pool at his feet in a cascade of brilliant red...

A moan tore from his mouth and his eyes drifted shut as he kneaded his hardened member through the cloth of his pants. The vividness of his vision was so real that he could almost feel her blood coating his hands and running in little rivers up his arms as he ministered to her body. He squeezed himself hard and shuddered. He had been so close...so close to having what he wanted. She had been there right under his nose. So ripe for the picking...until...

His eyes snapped open, his features hardening as he brought his wandering hand back to his weapon. "Who does that fucker think he is? This is my game. MY GAME!" He cracked the rifle open to reveal five gleaming, stogie-sized cartridges snuggled comfortably inside. He had five more in the back pocket of his khaki cargo pants. It was more than enough. Nothing or no one would get in his way. The creature was a hinderance, yes, but nothing he couldn't overcome.

Come hell or high water, he'd have his Bunny. Determined to claim his prize, he stalked back in the direction he had fled from. So focused was he on sating his primal urges that he didn't register the low, reverberating growl that seemed to shadow him as he once again picked up his prey's trail.

To be continued...

**Author's Note: Alright, I tried really hard to make this chapter longer than the others...but it didn't quite end up being as long as I would have liked. Can I at least get an 'A' for effort??? **

**I hope you all enjoyed. Can you say disgusting, sicko pervert? Mr. Crazy is about to have a Really Bad Day. Anyway, many thanks (as always) to everyone who took the time to read and review! I appreciate your comments!**

**predator808- THANK YOU!!! First things first...predator808 has kindly created some artwork to go along with this story! I'm so excited! Check out her page on Deviantart to see her awesome pic of Bunny (I personally adore the ears). She also has some other pred goodies on there too that I noticed while I was snooping around. Really great stuff! Be sure to check it out! To any other aspiring artists out there, if you feel so moved, feel free to give it a go! I always enjoy seeing what kinds of things my writing conjures up in peoples' minds! **

**Blackrain7557- What??? You don't like cliffhangers? I think it makes the story more interesting =P And yes, my characters probably do need some therapy but I've found that nothing cures crazy quite like a spear through the head. I'm sure the pred will get everything straightened out just fine, lol.**

**QuickStar- Don't hyperventilate on me yet. We're just getting to the good stuff! I am taking your suggestion into consideration. I believe it could be interesting...**

**Citizen Cobalt- I'm glad you like our Hunter. Yes, Bunny isn't going anywhere, but she may need to take a breather after this chapter (she is pretty traumatized). As for the two of them formally meeting, I don't think they are going to sit down to have tea together or anything but I'm sure they will cross paths. I also think it is only fair that she get a shot at Mr. Looney Toons. Can't let the pred have all the fun, ya know!**

**tain89- The tables have turned, indeed. What will Bunny do? Will the pred come back for her? Will he get hurt? I can't go telling you all my secrets...what I will say is that I was feeling REALLY inspired the other night and actually skipped ahead and typed up a (very) rough draft of the final chapter (the way I hope it ends). I think it goes very well with the atmosphere of the story thus far and I'm pretty happy with it. You're gonna dig it!**

**Insiss- Ferocious kittens with venomous fangs! And no, I don't mind if you have a go at drawing a character. In fact, I encourage it! I enjoy seeing other people's creativity simply because I don't have any of my own, lol. Have at it!**

**Mask of Lies- I liked that part, too, lol. Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

**Solosan- I tried really hard on this one...I really did! Sorry for being such a tease with my short chapters. I have a burst of inspiration and go with it. I don't want to force it and end up with some lame and bland filler for the sake of making the chapter longer. I may go back later after all is said and done and combine some of the chapters. I don't feel sorry for THAT GUY either. BUNNY may need some serious counseling after all this is said and done, though.**

**Elorrra87- Thank you so much! I find it terribly disappointing when you get really into a story and then suddenly it seems like the author just drops off the face of the planet. I fully intend to stick this one out and get it finished (barring death or dismemberment). Thanks for your kind comment and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story!**

**syverasazyn- SQUEE! I was truly humbled to find your review of my lowly, little fanfic. I love 'The Adventures of Wild Dog'. If any of you reading this haven't read 'Wild Dog', you need to. Like...NOW! It is one of my favorites in this genre and I highly recommend it. Just plain, great writing. That's all I can say. Thank you! **

**Till next time, **

**Amentet**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Nope. I still don't own Predator. I do claim this story line and its original characters. **

**P.S. Sorry this took so long!**

Catch and Release

Chapter 7

The longer he observed the male, the more convinced he became that ooman was divergent from the norms of ooman society. Certainly he had never witnessed this type of peculiar behavior on any of his other numerous hunts. Despite whether or not he approved of what the male was doing out here, which he didn't, the male was atypical at best. There was obviously nothing good about a male who would hunt an unarmed, defensless female for sport. The term _Badblood_ entered into his consciousness.

A feeling bordering on disappointment tugged at him. He had been anticipating adding one more trophy to his growing collection before calling an end to his Hunt. The chances of that happening seemed to be diminishing with every moment he spent watching his quarry. If the male was indeed a Badblood, which he was positively certain he was, his skull would hold no value to a seasoned Hunter such as himself. Prey without honor wasn't hardly worth the effort it took to kill it.

Still, he felt bound by his obligation to ensure the preservation of the female, if for no other reason than his own peace of mind. Convincing himself it had nothing to do with his initial fascination with the small, fragile-looking ooman, he continued to stalk his prey. He couldn't help but be a bit surprised when he found himself back in the location he had first shown himself, the male obviously trying to figure out which way the female had fled. A low growl escaped him. Apparently, the male was not going to be so easy to deter.

XXXXXXXXXX

It didn't take him long to find the place he had last seen Bunny...and the tree where he had encountered the creature. He eyed the treetops carefully for any sign of movement before kneeling down to inspect the ground where he had last seen his prey. The ground in this area of the forest was more densely packed and stoney. He was disappointed not to find any tracks to point him in the right direction.

"Well, phooey!" He rose to stand and kicked at the ground in disappointment. This was but a minor setback, for there was a trick to hunting rabbits that all good hunters know...and he considered himself one of the best.

Rabbits, when fleeing from danger, will take off running in a zig-zag pattern. While they are indeed fast and hard to catch, the path they run will eventually take them full circle and bring them back to the place where they started. Bunnies, he had found in his experience, were no different. As the saying goes, good things do indeed come to those who wait...and he could be very patient when the situation called for it.

A low, dangerous-sounding growl immediately caught his attention. His eyes darted nervously around as he surveyed his surroundings. He pointed his rifle in the direction he thought the noise had come from. He took a couple cautious steps forward, weapon at the ready. "Is that you, you son of a bitch? Where are you, huh? You cost me my kill. No one fucks up my game..."

Another threatening rumble halted him. It reminded him of the sound a bear would make...or a cat. Yes...one of those big cats like a mountain lion or a cougar. That's right, it was just a big ol' housecat...full of wicked teeth and razor sharp claws. It was nothing he couldn't handle. His lips pulled back from his teeth in a maniacal grin perhaps the game was so fucked up after all. "Here kitty, kitty..."

XXXXXXXXXX

Sobs trailed off into sniffles, which in turn faded into raspy breathing. The woman rubbed her eyes, now red and swollen from her breakdown and tried once more to haul her aching body up off the ground. She managed to pull herself up on the second try by using the tree closest to her for support.

Her loss of control, she realized, had done her a bit of good. The feeling of dispair no longer seemed as thick as it once did having cried out most of the tension she had held in since her ordeal had begun only God knows how long ago. Her head felt clearer, her mind more sharp. She could finally think without the voice in her head screaming about death and doom.

Instead, a quiet little whisper in the back of her consciousness stepped forward to remind her that she wasn't dead yet. Despite everything she was still here. No lunatic with a rifle, no monster from her worst nightmares had managed to do her in yet. There was still hope. She would cling to that hope as long as her heart still beat inside her chest. She would fight back. She would give it everything she had...till death decided to claim her.

To be continued...

**Author's Note: Well, I hope you all enjoyed. Another shorty, I'm afraid. For some reason this one was hard to write. I just couldn't seem to get 'in the mood' if ya know what I mean.**

**Oh! Before I forget...I'm going to throw this out there for anyone who's interested in stuff like this. They replayed the episode of the crime show I watched that got this story rolling the other night. Google 'Robert Hansen' if you want to know more about the guy who loosely inspired my portrayal of Crazy Guy. That dude is one sick puppy. **

**I'd like to give applause to all you guys who reviewed the last one. I appreciate it! **

**predator808: I hope you enjoyed the update! For all of you that didn't catch the sketch of Bunny predator808 drew for this story, check out her Deviantart page. She has drawn another little 'Catch and Release' montage featuring Bunny, The Crazy Guy, and the Preddy. Check it out! It rocks! Thank you predator808!!! **

**syverasazyn: I wouldn't say 'great'. Its mediocre at best, lol. Buggs always was tormenting poor Fudd. I was always surprised the guy didn't just snap and go on a killing spree...or at the very least end up institutionalized. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! **

**Gae-ta: I'm glad you find the story interesting! AND BREATHE!!! I'll not have you passing out on me! Thanks for the review! **

**tain89: Bunny is going to need a long vacation after all this is over, I think. If you think she's having a rough time now...just wait. I'm sure it gets worse. Crazy Guy is still looking for her and the Pred is out there somewhere. We sort of have a duel hunt going on now. Crazy is hunting Bunny but the Pred is hunting him...and now Bunny is going to do God knows what. Anything could happen. **

**Solosan: I can live with an A-... I'm glad you like the Pred. He is a fine, upstanding Yautja, lol. I feel for Bunny, too. She is overwhelmed and under enormous stress right now. Yes, she may be crying but once she gets it out of her system and gets her head straight.... **

**QuickStar: So true...quality should come before quantity. But, I do kinda feel like a tease with my short chapters, lol.**

**Blackrain7557: Wacky? Most people just call me weird, lol...but I can roll with wacky. Thanks for reading! **

**Till we meet again, **

**Tet**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own Predator...just my own crappy characters and crappy story line =)**

Catch and Release

Chapter 8

The anger seemed to well up from seemingly nowhere. Animosity she wasn't even aware she had been harboring became more and more pronounced with every cautious step she took. Just who did he think he was? Who was he to force her into playing along in this sick, little game? To reap her pain and suffering for his own amusement? To christen her as anything less than human?

He was a savage in the worst sense of the word. The man was obviously sick, of that she had no doubt. The way he spoke, the way he moved...nothing he did was grounded in concrete reality. The only thing that existed for him were the delusional fantasies that looped through his troubled mind over and over again. She was but a means to an end for him, she knew...a release. She was simply a small piece in the intricate puzzle that was his madness.

That, however, was not her only problem. Somewhere, out there in the dark, was an otherworldly being, armed to the teeth and apparently playing its own game. While the creature had seemed more interested in the man with the gun, she couldn't be certain that it wouldn't turn its sights on her when it grew bored. She couldn't be certain of anything. Not in this place. Not in this situation.

Her only hope was that the creature would see her as a waste of time and leave her be. It wasn't as if she posed a threat. It was obnoxiously apparent that she was no match for the creature's physical prowess. It was for that reason, she assumed, that it hadn't seemed too concerned with her presence earlier, opting instead to strike out after her tormentor. She only hoped it kept its passive attitude as far as she was concerned. She may actually stand a chance against her hunter, but if it came down to standing up against the creature...she hoped it wouldn't come to that.

She tightened her grip on the club-like branch she had picked up and took a deep breath, slowly blowing the air out through her nose. This was something she had to do. It was no longer simply a matter of her survival and escape, it was a reclaimation of her humanity. It was reaffirming to herself that she was indeed still alive.

She mentally prepared herself for confrontation as she limped through the dark, towering trees. A look of grim determination, illuminated by the soft moonlight that filtered down through the leaves, engraved itself onto her fine features. She would not be the scared, little rabbit he had come here to hunt. She would not be a quiet, timid Bunny awaiting the fall of the executioner's axe. No, tonight she was a wolf in Bunny's clothing.

XXXXXXXX

"Where'd you go, huh?" The man peered into the heavy growth as he tried to locate the low growl. He used the end of his rifle to poke around in the foilage. "This hide-and-seek shit is getting old real fast. Come on out here, you pussy."

The growl turned into a howl as the end of his rifle made contact with something solid. Before he could react, a blurry shape launched itself from out of the tangled overgrowth, surpising him and causing him trip backwards and land on his back. Rolling to the side, the man found himself staring into the face of a very pissed off bobcat.

The she cat, roused from the spot where she lay suckling her young, came at the man with her teeth bared and her ears laid back against the flat of her skull. Concerned that the man was attempting to encroach on the spot she had made for her kittens, she hissed menacingly as she advanced on him. She yowled and spat as if daring the man to make a move. Retractable claws slid out of their sheaths as she prepared to bat at the downed interloper.

"Shit!" The man threw his arms over his face protectively as he waited for the large cat to pounce. The attack never came. Instead, the cat's vocal protests against his presence trailed off into a high whine. Peeking out from between his arms, he watched as the cat, body tense and low to the ground, backed away from where he lay prone. It hissed almost fearfully as it moved back toward its hiding spot in the brush.

"Bad kitty..." The man, seizing the opportunity, staggered to his feet and took aim at the frightened animal. The cat's attention, however, seemed fixed on something over his shoulder. Almost in forewarning, the tiny hairs on the back of the man's neck stood on end. His eyes widened and his aim waivered. Spinning around, he tried to bring his gun back up level but was too slow to avoid the large, taloned hand that seized him about the neck and lifted him off the ground, bringing him face-to-face with the cold, expressionless face of what could only be described as a monster.

To be continued...

**Author's Note: This is TERRIBLE!!! Its short, sucky, and leaves off at a crucial part of the story. For that I am truly sorry. I'm going to be gone for the next couple weeks. I wanted to put something up before I skipped town. So, here you go! I am going to work on the next one while I'm gone. Let the action begin! I can hardly wait!**

**Thank you everyone for the reviews. As always, your comments are very motivating and kind of prod me along to keep up with the story. I appreciate it!**

**QuickStar: I'm glad you caught the update before you left and I'm glad you enjoyed it. I liked your analogy. I think its more of a triangle of obsession, though. At least where Crazy is concerned.**

**predator808: You're welcome =)**

**Mask of Lies: I took your advice. I watched every sick, demented movie I could get my grubby, little hands on. I'm feeling quite inspired now, lol.**

**tain89: Pred's no quitter! He may not get a salvagable trophy out of it but he has his principles to think of. He ain't going nowhere!**

**Royal Frog: Thank you so much for your kind comments! I am really glad you are enjoying the story. I was actually looking for something different to read and couldn't find anything to suit my tastes so I decided to write something myself, lol. I am really psyched that others are enjoying it as well. **

**syverasazyn: Badassery will be forthcoming. =)**

**Eibhleann: Thank you! Disturbing is what I aim for, lol.**

**random hyper person & crew: Thanks! Believe it or not, I actually toned down the part where Mr. Crazy was thinking about Bunny and blood and stuff. I decided the original version was a tad bit much for this site. I was kind of riding the fence between creepy and complete, full-blown depravity, lol. I went with creepy.**

**Speaking of depravity, I was actually thinking of posting up the more explicit version of this story somewhere if I can ever get around to it. This is actually a watered down version or what I originally intended because I don't want the fanfic police coming after me with torches and pitch forks, lol. Oh, well. **

**Till we meet again!**

**Tet **


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Predator, unfortunately. **

**FYI...in this chapter words spoken by our Predator friend will be translated and in "**_**italics**_**"****since English really isn't his first language and no one would have any idea what he was talking about if i just wrote something like "Clicky, click, clickity, growl...". Thanks! =) **

Catch and Release

Chapter 9

His eyes narrowed behind his mask as he watched the male claw at the hand he had wrapped around his throat. The ooman's soft, blunt fingernails dug harmlessly into the pebbled skin of his hands made tough by many seasons of hunting. He cocked his head and regarded the suspended male as he flipped through the vision settings on his mask until he found one that suited him.

The male's bulging, blue, bloodshot eyes and chapped, fleshy lips, which had begun to turn an odd shade of purple due to lack of oxygen, repulsed him. He could see nothing appealing about the ooman that warranted his time other than the fact that it was armed. That, and the satisfaction he would derive from exterminating a degenerate were the only things keeping him interested in this particular game...and the female, which he was admittedly a little curious about.

He watched the male struggle for a moment more before snarling in disgust and flinging him away. The ooman sailed through the air as if it weighed nothing, crashed into an ancient oak and toppled to the ground with a grunt of pain. Moving to tower over the writhing creature, he watched passively as it struggled to right itself. Soon growing bored, he toed it none to gently in the rib cage with one armor-clad foot.

"_Get up._" He hissed, as he used his foot to roll the ooman over onto its back. He barked louder. "_GET UP!_" The male responded by curling in on itself and whimpering, much like a frightened pup, further angering him.

Roaring, he grasped the male by the scruff of its neck, hauling it effortlessly to its feet causing it to cower before him as he extended his wrist blades in a menacing gesture. Reigning in the impulse to skewer the dishonorable wretch where it stood he instead growled at him lowly. "_You would hunt she who is smaller and weaker than yourself, yet you refuse to stand and meet a fair opponent?" _

The male's leaking eyes had locked onto the twin blades which had sprung from their hiding place on the Hunter's gauntlet and glittered dangerously in the moonlight. "Please...don't kill me..."

He understood little of the language the oomans that inhabited this region of the planet spoke but knew enough to know that the male was beseeching his mercy. Was he capable of such? Certainly...to those who proved themselves worthy of receiving it. Would the male have shown the female a reprieve had she been in a position to plead for her life? Doubtful. So, who was he to grant clemency to one so merciless themselves?

"I'll do anything you want..." The male ripped his eyes away from the Hunter's weapon to look into the void-like eyes of his mask. "Just...just let me go..."

"_You beg for your life?_" The Hunter released the male, causing him to stumble backwords a couple steps. "_You are not even deserving of the death I will give to you_."

The ooman watched wide-eyed as the Hunter circled slowly. The scent of fear it gave off was pleasing. The male was frightened as the female had been. It whimpered and trembled, its body tense as it awaited death. The Hunter lunged, then, prepared to sink his blades deep into the males chest.

He hadn't expected the ooman to move so quickly. He also hadn't expected the ooman's antiquated weaponry to be so powerful as he felt a hot, searing pain rip through his shoulder. The impact from the blast spun him around, knocking him off balance and causing him lose his footing. He roared, more in anger than pain.

The male wasted no time as he bolted off into the surrounding trees, leaving the downed Hunter behind in a cloud of acrid gunsmoke.

XXXXXXXXXX

The sound of a single gunshot, followed by an enraged roar gave her pause. The utter silence that followed was almost enough to make her lose her nerve. She stood fast, however, squashing the impulse to turn tail and run. Renewed in her resolve to face that which she feared most, she quickened her pace as she headed in the direction of the disturbance.

Despite the fact that her heart had begun pounding faster behind her rib cage, she felt eerily calm. She was aware only of the movement of her feet carrying her toward her destination and the weight of the heavy branch that she had her fingers wrapped around. Eyes roamed over the landscape ceaselessly. Ears strained to pick up even the slightest sound.

The thud of heavy footfalls. The sound labored breathing that only came from overexertion. High-pitched, panicked wheezing drawing closer. She was instantly alert. Every muscle bunched in anticipation as she took cover behind a nearby tree, branch cocked back over her shoulder like a major league ballplayer. Unintelligible words grew louder as she took a deep breath, preparing to swing.

'_WHACK_'

Stepping around the tree she saw the man, her hunter, sprawled on his back. A look of confusion plastered on his face. She grit her teeth as she adjusted her grip on her makeshift weapon. "You bastard..."

He blinked up at her. "Bu-"

'_WHACK_'

"SHUT UP!" She brought the branch down again, hard, on his head. "MY NAME IS NOT BUNNY!"

"Stop!" The man threw his arms up to protect his face from the onslaught. "Its coming! Its going to kill me!"

'_WHACK_'

"SHUT UP!" She lifted the branch to swing again. The sight of the bloody whelts she was making spurring her on. She wanted him to hurt. "SHUT! THE! FUCK! UP!" Each word was punctuated by a blow.

'_WHACK_', '_WHACK_', '_WHACK_', '_WHACK_'

"Fucking bitch!" The man cursed as she continued to rain blows down upon him. "You're fucking mine!"

He rolled quickly away, catching her by surprise. She faltered slightly, losing her grip on the branch. She recovered quickly but it had been just enough time to allow her tormentor to regain his footing also. It was too late for her to dodge the rifle butt that slammed into her face.

She reeled backwards, hands clamped to her face to staunch the flow of blood that cascaded from her nose and mouth. She blinked her eyes rapidly in a bid to stay conscious. The two grubby hands that wrapped themselves around her slender throat seemed to have other ideas as they began to choke the life out of her.

It was as if the entire world had slowed to a crawl. The pressure on her chest, the tightness around her neck, even the blood flowing down her face took on a surreal quality. It seemed she was watching her own murder through someone else's eyes. She was dying in slow motion.

And then, suddenly, she wasn't.

The man's weight was removed from her, the hands ripped from around her neck leaving her gasping for air. Though she had prayed numerous times throughout the night for some sort of divine intervention to deliver her from this evil, this was the least thing she had expected.

The creature, appearing almost god-like in its stance, held the man aloft by one powerful arm. Tiny rivulets of florescent green trickled out of a wound on its shoulder. It didn't seem to care, though. Its attention was focused on her. It made a chuffing noise, cocking its head to the side as it looked at her, the man it held seemingly forgotten for the moment. It watched her carefully, the blank eyes of its mask never leaving her own.

The man's struggling and thrashing soon drew its attention, though. It turned its face back to him, giving him a rough shake that caused his head to whip back and forth like a rag doll. It takes wisdom to know when to stand and fight and when to run. She took that as her cue to run.

To be continued...

**Author's Note: I am so not happy with the way this turned out. The little scene that I had in my head did not translate well onto the written page. I hate this chapter the most out of all that I've written so far. I HATE IT! I just can't get it to come out right...so I gave up. These are the butchered remains, lol. Feel free to pick apart the carcass.**

**Thanks to all who read and reviewed that last chap. It was short but sooo much better than this one (in my opinion).**

**tain89: Mr Crazy is in A LOT MORE trouble now, haha.**

**random hyper person: Bunny X Pred?! What kind of girl do you think Bunny is??? Thanks for the review! You're so funny =)**

**Royal Frog: At least this one isn't a long, boring, pointless chapter. Its a short crappy one! Thanks for reading. I'm glad you're enjoying the story!**

**Solosan: 'Waves magic wand' I can't make the 'to be continued's' disappear BUT...I'm already done with the next chap...I'm gonna make you wait for it, though (evil laugh)**

**syverasazyn: Who? Me?**

**QuickStar: I can't go telling you all my secrets...then they wouldn't be secret anymore! The ending has already been planned. You'll dig it. That's all I'm gonna say =)**

**shloop!: Lol, love the name! The psycho ain't dead yet! I might let him linger a bit longer. And nope, Bunny doesn't really have a name. 'The Most Dangerous Game' is cool!**

**Till next time, **

**Amentet**

**P.S. The next chapter is much better if I do say so myself!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I absolutely, in no way, shape or form own Predator. The only things I claim are my Psycho Killer Dude and my Bunny. **

**FYI...once again our Preddy friend's speach is translated and in **_**italics**_** to prevent any confusion as he has yet to master the English language.**

Catch and Release

Chapter 10

She scrambled through the trees. The sound of the struggle behind her fading as she put more distance between herself the nightmare she had been living for the past 24 hours. A quick glance toward the sky told her that dawn would soon be upon them. Hopefully the bright morning sun would have better luck chasing away the horrors of the night than she had.

Her confrontation with her stalker had not gone entirely as she had planned. Her physical assault on him had made her feel only slightly better. Any further action on her part had been halted when the man had gained the upper hand and had tried to choke the very life out of her. On the brink of losing consciousness, she had been more than a little frightened to find that her saving grace was indeed the ferocious looking creature that had seemingly come out of nowhere to join in the macabre festivities.

The enraged, otherworldly being had ripped the madman off of her as if he was nothing. In her stupor she had noted a glowing, phosphorescent substance oozing from what was apparently a gunshot wound in the shoulder. Her stalker had obviously managed to wound the creature. Instead of discouraging it however, it seemed to have only made it that much more determined.

She did not linger long. Giving thanks in her head for the creatures intervention, she had run. Figuring any damage the creature wrought on her assailant would be more devastating than anything she could accomplish and not wanting to be on the receiving end of its wrath should it decide her responsible in any way for the injuries it had sustained, she abandoned any notion of standing her ground. She opted instead to go back to her original plan: Put as much distance between herself and Them as humanly possible.

She had not escaped unscathed, however. Her face throbbed where the man had cracked her in the nose with the butt of his rifle. Dried blood clung to her chin and streaked her neck. Her body, scratched, bruised, and covered in the muck of the forest cried out painfully with each movement she made. Still, she moved ahead, somewhat fearful of what she might see if she looked behind her.

In the dim, early morning light, a slight break in the treeline caught her attention. Moving in that direction, she nearly collapsed and wept in relief when she stumbled onto what appeared to be some kind of access road. Though unpaved, it seemed fairly well traveled judging from the deep ruts and lack of weed growth. Someone came out here. Often.

She craned her neck both left and right as she contemplated which way to go. Both directions seemed to disappear into the misty, morning fog. Deciding that it didn't matter which way she went as long as she was moving, she struck off to the right. If she was correct about the frequency of travel along the road, someone would be along eventually. The first real rays of hope filled her as she quickened her pace, her physical pain forgotten for the moment.

XXXXXXXXXX

The male, almost desperate in his pursuit of the female, had turned out to be quite the challenging quarry. Much more so than he had originally anticipated. It had even managed to wound him, a minor annoyance, but an injury all the same. It would leave a lovely scar. Trophy or no, the entertainment the ooman provided was worth the bother, he decided. Mandibles, hidden behind the mask he wore, curled into what would be seen by one of his own kind as an amused grin.

His blades sang as they sliced through the air, clanging dully and spitting sparks as they collided with the metallic barrel of the projectile weapon the man had brought up to block the blow. Bellowing, more in amusement than in anger, the Hunter's other hand shot out, grabbing the weapon by the stock and twisting it out of the males grasp. Flinging it carelessly aside, he retracted his wrist blades. He wanted to finish this with his bare hands.

Advancing on his target, the Hunter drew his arm back and swung. There was a 'crack' as the male's head snapped back at the force of the blow. Staggering, the ooman fell to its knees. Thick, crimson blood gushed from its crushed scent organ. The Hunter growled deep in his throat as he looked down upon his prey. "_I am no weak, cowering female. Stand and fight ME._"

"My game...my Bunny..." The male babbled almost incoherently as it spat blood onto the ground. Glassy, bloodshot eyes looked up at the Hunter. "You can't...can't take my Rabbit. She's mine." The ooman giggled, a sick smile showing through the blood that now coated his face. "I found her first...fair and square...but maybe..."

The Hunter watched as the male struggled to its feet. A maniacal look was plastered on its haggard features. "Maybe we can share her, yeah? You ugly motherfucker...you like hunting Bunnies, too? What do you say? You're a guy, right? I'm going to assume you're packing the proper equipment. Want a piece of that fluffy, little cotton tail?" The male made a 'humping' motion and pointed at the Hunter and himself. "Fuck Bunny?"

The Hunter cocked his head in confusion, wishing he could understand more of what the male spoke. He had caught a few of the garbled words. The words 'fuh-k' and 'Buh-neh' he had definitely understood. The male had just offered to share the female with him sexually as a sort of peace offering. He snarled in disgust at the mere suggestion. Had this ooman no shame? His fists curled tight at his sides as the actual reality of the situation finally sank in. "_You are insane._"

The ooman smirked with satisfaction, the stillness of the Hunter and the subdued clicking noise he made leading it to believe he was mulling over its offer. "You're thinking about it, huh? I'll tell you what...I'll even let you have her first if you want. Just save a little something for me..."

"_Enough of this filth!_" He roared in rage, grabbing the male and hurling him through the air. "_Insane, depraved savage!"_. The very idea that the ooman believed he would participate in mating a female against their will, that they were equals, partners in crime...that he was some sort of Badblood was the final insult. He was no longer amused. He was finished playing. With much determination he stalked toward the ooman. He was ready to call an end to this 'game'.

XXXXXXXXXX

It was like tripping into salvation when the vague outline ranger shack came into view through the hazy blanket of fog. Her trot became a full on sprint in the direction of the small, squat building. Tears of relief glistened in the early morning dawn and ran down her filthy face. Her relief was shortlived however, upon finding the shack locked up tight.

"HELLO?!" She pounded the bolted door as hard as she could. The tears were coming out of desperation now. "SOMEONE, PLEASE! I NEED HELP!"

She wriggled the doorknob and butted her shoulder against the reinforced door. "PLEASE! IS THERE ANYONE THERE?! HELP!"

She took a step back and moved to the barred window. Peeking in she could see a desk, littered with maps, a half-eaten bagle, an empty coffee cup and a telephone. She gripped the bars with both hands and pulled, a shriek of frustration escaping her. Help was only a phone call away, but the building, designed to keep wildlife out, seemed only to mock her with its false promise of sanctuary. Throwing her head back in despair, she wailed loudly.

To be continued...

**Author's Note: I am on a roll! I had finished writing this one and I couldn't resist posting it up. I'm much happier with this chapter than I was the last. If you couldn't tell, our story is beginning to wind down. There are probably two chapters (possibly three) left to go. I'm so excited!**

**Thanks as always to everyone who took the time to review the last one...even if reading it did make me want to gouge out my own eyeballs, lol.**

**hoot13: It was just wrong. Kinda like having a bad hair day. You know what you want your hair to do but no matter how much you style it, it just won't lay right and you end up looking like a poodle. That's how I feel about chapter 9, lol.**

**Citizen Cobalt: *Gasp* Bunny x Pred?! Why, I never... =P So glad you're enjoying!**

**QuickStar: You, too??? Bunny x Pred people...lol. How's about he takes her out to a nice dinner and a movie after everything is said and done??? Thanks for the review! =)**

**shloop!: Not as much blood and violence in this chap...I'm saving it for the next. You rock!**

**Royal Frog: Lol, I'm glad I could make you giggle. And yes, the last chapter was bad. You don't have to be nice, haha. No head bashing in this chapter either...wait for it =)**

**tain89: I'm glad you liked it. Mr. Crazy is about to get his ass handed to him, I think. The Pred is gonna do what preds do. He's curious because he's never really seen a 'Bunny' before.**

**Solosan: I am honored! I hope the back to back updates help with the TBCs. I'm glad you thought the last chapter 'passed', lol. I really, truly do think it sucked. I'm much happier with this one!**

**See you next chapter!**

**Amentet **


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Predator. I do however take credit for this terrible, terrible plot and even more terrible characters, lol. **

**FYI...Mr. Pred's dialogue is still translated and in **_**itallics**_**. I offered to tutor him in English. He refused. Maybe Bunny will have better luck working with him. He is a stubborn one.**

Catch and Release

Chapter 11

The Hunter rocked back on his heels slightly to admire his work thus far, shaking off the bits of skin that still clung to his wrist blades as he did so. He gave a satisfied rumble as he gazed upon the bloody, quivering mass of moaning ooman flesh beneath him. It was not his best work, but not definitely not his worst. Afterall, the male was still alive and bound to thrash around some at the touch of his razor-like wrist blades. All in all, his handiwork was admirable under the circumstances.

He grunted and sank his talons deeper into the ooman's muscle, anchoring him securely in place as he prepared to continue on with his flaying. Normally, he would have skinned his prey _after_ they were already dead. This ooman, this _badblood, _did not warrant such a courtesy. He would feel every smooth slice of his blade as it moved through his flesh. He deserved nothing less. Chittering to himself he moved his attention to the soft skin of the ooman's abdomen earning a gurgling scream from the male pinned against the tree before him him.

A sound came filtering through the dense trees then, so forlorn and desperate that it called to the most basic of his instincts. His entire body immediately went tense, his blades halting in their motion. It was the despondent cry of the female. The pure hopelessness embodied in her wailing tugged his attention from the bloody, flailing body of the ooman male he was in the process of expressing his intense dislike for. He immediately thought the worst. He may have prevented her death at the hands of the dishonorable filth he now held in his own but there were other, less discerning predators among the forest's natural inhabitants.

He ripped his talons out of the soft flesh they were buried in. He let the moaning, mangled mass of ooman drop unceremoniously to the ground. He growled in warning as it attempted to crawl away on its hands and knees before drawing his armor clad foot back and striking out. The strangled cry and the sickening snap of ribs beneath his foot drew another satisfied rumble out of the Hunter as he looked down upon his quarry.

Under normal circumstances, he did not like to toy with his kills after they were incapacitated. Instead, he preferred to give them the honor of a quick death, to lessen their suffering after putting up a valiant fight for their survival. These circumstances, however, were not normal and this particular prey was anything but valiant. This one would feel pain. He would suffer. Deciding the male would keep until his return, he turned on his heel and went in search of the female that had unwittingly captured his attention.

XXXXXXXXXX

She wasn't sure how long she had sat in front of the shack weeping and batting her fists uselessly against the heavy door. Her muttered pleas for help were wasted on the early morning birds that chirped merrily in the trees, seemingly oblivious the the filthy, ragged, young woman that marred the otherwise picturesque scenery. Perhaps, a twisted part of her mind mused, she was meant to die out here and that maybe it would make it easier for all if she just lay down where she was and waited for death's cold hand to claim her.

She sat bleary-eyed and contemplated these hopeless thoughts for a moment. Her final grasp at salvation had been in vain, the locked ranger station a testament to just how futile her situation had become. The idea of simply giving in and succombing was only entertained for a moment, however. The sound of softly approaching footsteps and the gentle crunching of leaves had her on her feet in a second, her heart pounding behind the wall of her chest. The will to live, it seemed, never ended despite feelings to the contrary.

The doe froze in place as it eyed the disheveled, miserable-looking interloper. An understanding seemed to pass briefly between them that only came from knowing all to well what it felt like to be on the wrong end of the barrel. Their exchange lasted only a moment before the doe, with tail held high, bounded back into the forest imparting yet another hard learned lesson on the woman. One must keep moving if one is to survive.

Unsure of where else she had left to go but still unwilling to passively play the roll of sacrificial lamb to slaughter, she took the doe's implied advice and began wandering slowly back down the access road, meandering from side to side, her arms wrapped tightly around her torso. The occasional tear escaped from her eyes and cut a path through the blood and grime that encrusted her face. She thought of her family, her friends, those that she would most probably never have the good fortune of seeing again. It hurt almost as much as she was sure her eventual death would. Perhaps more so.

So many goals she'd had, so many things left to do with her life. She mentally listed to herself the things she'd never get to do, the things she'd never be. She'd never finish her last year of college. She'd never get that job she worked so hard for. She'd never meet the man of her dreams. She'd never marry. Never have children. The list went on and on. All that seemed to be left for her was a slow, lonesome death in the middle of some strange wood.

XXXXXXXXXX

Mother of God, it hurt! The man whimpered, as he pulled himself to his feet. He gasped for breath, the painful pinch in his side confirming to him that his shattered ribs were digging into things they shouldn't be. That, however, was less painful than the bloody mess the creature had turned his face and torso into. The skin there had been carefully peeled away exposing the muscle and sinew underneath. It had apparently been the monster's intention to skin him alive before it was interrupted. The bastard.

He could not find it in him to completely hate the monster, however. A part of him actually admired the raw, uninhibitied power the creature seemed to possess. Admittedly, had he not been the one the creature was practicing its skill on, he may have been impressed by the finesse it used while holding him immobile with one hand and carefully using the tip of one of the twin blades that extended from a gauntlet on its opposite wrist to carefully cut and peel away his flesh. They could have been buddies, he mused. They could have compared techniques on the best way to skin Rabbits. A pained chuckle made its way passed the man's lips.

He wobbled unsteadily on his feet as he pushed off the tree he leaned against. Blood loss under the monster's minstrations had left his head a bit fuzzy. He took one step, and another before collapsing once more onto his knees. Survival was the new game and he had only one shot at it. He only hoped he was right in his line of thinking. He grit his teeth behind his mangled lips and groaned as he hauled himself back up. He had been called many things in his life by many different people but never a quitter. Never.

XXXXXXXXXX

The woman sniffled, hugging herself tightly. She stood in the middle of the dirt road, head tipped back, gazing at the early morning sky. Silent tears continued to make their lonely trek down her face. She sent up a silent prayer to whatever god may be watching her life play out its final chapter. It was no longer a prayer for survival, she had given up on that dream. Rather, she prayed that she would be found quickly, that her parents and loved ones wouldn't be forced to wonder what had happened to her for long. She prayed that the end would come swiftly, that she wouldn't suffer.

"Amen..." She blinked up at the sky, shivering a bit as the cool morning breeze slipped passed the filthy camisole and panties she wore. Moving slowly once again down the access road, she had not taken more than half a dozen steps when something crashed into her from behind, knocking her to the ground and pinning her there. Stunned at first, all she could do was lay there as the weight on her back threatened to crush her.

"B-bunny..."

The wheezing, raspy voice in her ear shocked her back to life. She began to thrash wildly, a scream tearing out of her raw, aching throat.

"Shhh..." The man raised himself off of her just enough to flip her over beneath him. "Shh-shh-shh..." He pressed bloody fingers to her lips, his own mangled ones working hard to form coherent words. "I-its out th-there...l-l-listening..."

Upon coming face-to-face with the man who had hunted her, she couldn't stop the second blood-curdling scream that pushed its way up out of the pit of her stomach. Panic seized her in its iron-like grip. It was like gazing upon something out of a horror movie. Where skin should have been across his face and chest, red, wet muscle glistened. Cringing at the slick wetness under her palms, she pushed at him desperately, her hands sliding along the raw meat of his torso. "Get off of me!"

The man grit his teeth in pain, seizing her wrists and pinning them above her head. "Y-you'll he-elp me." Weak and woozy, he released her arms and collapsed on top of her, nuzzling his face into the crook of her neck, smearing her with gore. "Y-ou won't le-et it g-get me-ee..."

"Let me go!" She twisted and contorted herself in an attempt to wiggle out from underneath him. "Oh, God...HELP!"

"Help..." The man gurgle-giggled against her throat, nearly crushing her with the dead weight of his body. "H-he-elp!"

XXXXXXXXXX

He listened carefully for the slightest noise, the smallest sound that would lead him in the direction the female had gone off. As he perched in a low branch and scented the air, it seemed that even her lingering scent had been burned away along with the morning fog. He growled in frustration. It was just like a female to always be around when you didn't need them but scarce when you were actually looking for them.

Despite his irritation, he also felt slight concern. When he had taken it upon himself to dispose of the male, he had also assumed responsibility for what happened to the female. It occured to him that he probably should have secured her when he had the chance, before going after the male. It was always easier to see what should have been done in retrospect. It was too late to second guess his actions now.

Leaping to the ground he began a systematic search, fanning out from the area he had last encountered her. He kept his eyes open for the smallest clue as to which direction she had fled. So occupied he had been with the other ooman that he hadn't really paid all that close attention to which way she had gone, assuming that he would have plenty of time to track her down again once he had finished with the male. He had not anticipated the possibility of her running into some other trouble while he was occupied.

His patience was rapidly dwindling both with her for being so difficult to locate and with himself for not being able to find her. His fists clenched, talons very nearly drawing blood as they dug into the palms of his hands. He could feel a roar of frustration building within him. It was almost a blessing then that the sound of another scream, this one laden with terror instead of dispair, echoed through the forest once more. The female was close. Without a second's hesitation he was moving once again.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Please, let me go..." She was sobbing now. The man had hauled her to her feet and had her clutched against his chest as if she were his last chance of salvation, one hand tangled in the hair at the back of her head, the other around her waist, securing her against him.

"You d-don't under-ersta-nd..." The man sucked in a painful breath and bent so that his raw, bloody cheek pressed against the woman's. "It w-w-wants to ki-ill me. You w-won't let it k-ill me wi-ill you, B-bunny? My wit-tle wab-bit..."

"I just want to go home..." Her breath hitched as she cried. "Please, God, I want to go home..."

A low, deep growl reverberated through the treeline at the side of the road making the man to spin around quickly taking the woman with him, causing her to yelp as her pulled hard on her hair. Wide-eyed, he hissed at her from between clenched teeth. "Itsss h-here..."

The woman's own eyes widened as the sound reached her ears as well. Terrified, she frantically scanned the treeline. She whimpered as the man tightened his grip on her, pulling her along the road with him.

"Ev-verything is g-gonna b-be jus-st fine..." The man's bloody lips pulled back in a pained grin. "Ju-ust f-fine, Bunny. Y-ou'll s-see..."

To be continued...

**I hope this chapter met everyone's expectations. I think this is the longest one to date, which isn't saying much, lol. I'm trying really hard to keep it interesting. I hate reading stories that get you all worked up and then kind of let you down. I don't want to do that to you guys...that's why it took so long to get this chapter up. **

**On a side note, I got some very good advice from a very knowledgable and respectable reader (I'm sure she knows who she is) who sort of laid out reasons why I should expand on this plot and maybe take the story a bit further than I originally intended. She also touched on the possibility of some Bunny x Pred (which I'm sure would make a lot of you happy). I am seriously contemplating her advice. I currently have a couple more chapters written for this story that were meant to sort of wrap everything up neatly and bring it to a close...now, I'm not so sure. I have a whole slew of ideas floating around in my head...I just don't know how to tie them in to what's already here. I'll study on it and get back to you...hopefully by the next chapter =) **

**Many thanks to all the wonderful reviewers. I love you guys! You're all so inspiring! **

**syverasazyn: My story is sqee-worthy? That's so exciting! It does appear however that the terror in the fog came face-to-face with something much worse, lol....and it ain't over yet. **

**hoot13: Nope, the insane guy does not have a name (nor does Bunny). Yes, he is demented. As for something "sparkly" between Bunny and the Pred...the jury is still out on that one. **

**tain89: Yep, never a good idea to imply that an honorable pred might be down with the badbloods. It always ends badly...usually with your head mounted on their wall or something equally as bad. I hope this chapter answered at least some of your questions. **

**predator808: Thank you! I hope you enjoyed the update! **

**QuickStar: Bunny might flip out if she saw his face. I don't think she'd be stupid enough to try to beat him with a log though, lol. Although, that would be funny to watch. I have a couple more stories I'm working on and some ideas for a couple more. I just don't like to have too many things going on at once. **

**Solosan: I'm sure he probably does think ooman's are crazy...especially this Looney Toon. I'm guessing he probably would have thought it was funny to see Wacko getting beat with a stick, lol. Feel free to guesstimate all you want! I'm glad the update was a happy surprise! **

**Kurokajin: I'm glad you're enjoying the story! I've bummed a lot of people out about the Pred X Bunny stuff...but as I said before, I'm still contemplating maybe expanding the plot. It ain't over yet! There's nothing wrong with being a Predaphile (I'm an undercover pred lover but shhh! don't tell anyone). He is a nice guy (as nice as an intergalactic hunter that collects human skulls can be). I'm sure he would take great care of Bunny if given the opportunity. **

**randon hyper person: LOL! Your reviews always make me laugh. Thank you! I want my cookies! **

**Royal Frog: You find me amusing??? Good!!! Glad I could give you a chuckle. I just figured that since Mr. Pred really doesn't have a 'nose' to speak of that he probably wouldn't call it as such, know what I mean? **

**SesshiraRayu: Yes, I kinda feel sorry for Bunny, too. The poor girl just can't win. **

**Black Ankle: Thank you very much! I'm glad you like it! Thanks for reading! **

**lordnitemare: I'm honored that my humble, little story would hold a place in your 'guilty pleasures'. I was thinking of splicing the more 'juicy' parts back into the story line for my own entertainment. If I ever get around to it I may do just that and find some dark little corner of the web to post it. I hope Crazy Guy's eventual death will be as poetic and imaginative as you hope it to be...I have some pretty creative ideas in mind for that highly anticipated moment. After all, he deserves only the best. I'll also tally another mark for Bunny x Pred, lol. **

**See you all at the next chapter! **

**Tet**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters. **

**My spellcheck is acting funny (as it does from time to time). Its actually pretty useless to be honest. So, if you happen to catch any spelling or grammar errors (in this chapter or anywhere else in the story for that matter) please let me know so I can fix them. I try to catch them all but I'm sure I probably missed a couple somewhere. Thanks! **

**FYI...You should get this by now but I'll repeat myself just for the heck of it. Any speech from Mr. Pred is translated and typed in **_**itallics**_**. He is not fluent in English and I figured I'd save us all the time of trying to track down a translator that can decode whatever language it is that Yautja speak. You may now proceed to the story**.

Catch and Release

Chapter 12

The Hunter emerged from the treeline. If it wasn't for his own eyes confirming what was before him he wouldn't have believed it. The ooman male had much more stamina and tenacity than he would have expected given the fact that a good portion of its hide was missing and it had surely lost plenty of fluids. Its persistent determination to have what it wanted even at the cost of its own life nearly impressed him. It was too bad its skull would be utterly worthless to him. It would have made a fine addition to his collection.

The female that struggled in the male's grasp was impressive in her own right. He felt a strange sort of displaced pride toward her. The mere fact that she had been able to survive her ordeal out here alone with the crazy ooman for _Paya_ only knows how long before he came along said much about her endurance. Armed only with her wits and instinct, she had amazingly pulled through to this point. She would have made a very nice catch had the circumstances been different, had he not had such respect for the rules.

XXXXXXXXXX

"C-ome on you b-bastard..." The disfigured man taunted the monster as it circled them, daring it to strike.

The woman whimpered in distress as the creature drew closer, squirming in the man's grasp. "What are you doing? Its going to kill us..."

"Shh..." The man cooed into her ear. His shredded lips grazed against her earlobe. "No, no, no...I've got a p-plan, see..." He nuzzled the side of her face. "It doesn't seem interested in you...you're m-my defense."

The woman's eyes widened as she realized what he was saying. She was now, for all intents and purposes, a human shield. "You're fucking crazy..."

"Cr-crazy like a fox..." The man refocused on the monster that stalked angrily around them. "Wh-at are you w-waiting for, you pussy? C-come on and get some!"

The monster bellowed and lunged at the challenge. Clawed fingers swiping dangerously close to the man's face prompting him to swing the woman around in front of him to block the blow. Instead of sinking deeply into the man's flesh as obviously intended, the sharp tips of the creature's talons sliced across the woman's upper body, severing one of the thin straps of her camisole and digging four shallow slashes from her collar bone to her sternum. Her pained scream sent the birds flying from the trees overhead in a panicked flurry of wings.

"Gotcha good, did he?" The man took in a ragged, painful breath, a wheezing laugh making its way from between his lips as he tightened his grip on the frightened woman, his only chance of survival.

XXXXXXXXXX

It had been too late to stop as the male moved the female into the line of attack. He had pulled back as much as his momentum would allow. The strike, which had been intended to incapacitate the male, could have easily ripped through the delicate flesh of the female's throat. Instead, he had been able to redirect the blow causing only what he hoped was a minor injury.

The Hunter briefly dropped his gaze to look at the bleeding, terrified female being clutched against the male's chest as if she were some sort of armor. He snarled angrily behind his mask. The lows this male would stoop to seemed without end. Using the female as a shield to protect himself was evidence of that. If the male thought this disgusting ploy would grant him reprieve, he was decidedly wrong.

He hissed at the male. "_You coward..._"

With a flex of his muscles, his wrist blades slid out of their confinement with a satisfying 'snick'. He noted the female's large eyes, glassy with fear, widen even more as the weapon moved into her line of sight. She whimpered and pressed herself back against the male that held her captive, trying to put as much distance between herself and the twin blades as possible. He tried to purr to her reassuringly but, agitated as he was, the sound came out resembling something more along the lines of a sinister growl and had the opposite effect than he intended as her whimpers quickly turned into tears.

The male looked at the shining blades with something akin to confusion as the Hunter closed in. The ooman straightened slightly and backed away, still clutching the female to his raw, bloody chest, until his back made contact with one of the ancient trees that lined the road and he could go no further. "Wh-at the fu-uck..."

"Please, no..." The female looked up at the Hunter with wet, red-rimmed eyes as he drew closer. One of her hands clawed feebly at the arm wrapped around her middle, the other stretched out as she pleaded for mercy. Streams of liquid continued to run down her face. "Please don't...I don't want to die..." Her words trailed off into a choking sob.

The Hunter regarded her for a moment. Such a small, fragile-looking, defenseless thing the ooman female was. Her fear of him was nearly palpable. How certain she was that he was going to end her life. She didn't know his intent. She couldn't know his true agenda was the worthless mass of soft meat that cowered behind her. She didn't know him, after all.

"Wh-what the fu-uck, ma-an?!" The ooman male was growing agitated. He tightened his grip on the female, causing her to yelp. "What th-the fuck d-do you want?!"

The Hunter refocused his attention on the male's mangled visage. A dangerous sound emanated from deep inside of his chest. What did he want? Surely the time they spent together earlier had made it perfectly clear. He wanted the ooman, this disgraceful thing, skewered on the end of his blades. Apparently he hadn't made his desires as obvious as he had believed by literally stripping the male of its worthless hide. He would have to remedy that.

"You wa-ant the b-bitch?" The male sneered. "Is that i-it? I offered to sh-share her, ma-an. I f-fuck-cking offered...I was gonna share! FUCK! I OFFERED TO SHARE GODDAMNIT!"

Sickened and unwilling to listen to the male spew anymore of his filth, he drew his arm back and clicked at the female. "_Do not move._"

XXXXXXXXXX

The woman watched in horror as the creature before her pulled its arm back in preparation to strike. The blades affixed to its arm glittered menacingly in the early morning sun. She squeezed her eyes shut in a feeble attempt to block out what was about to happen. It was useless. Her body tensed against the man's in anticipation of the sharp alloy that would soon punch their way through her body, trying to mentally prepare herself for the pain that would surely bring.

The sound of the blades cutting through the air was drowned out by the creature's ferocious roar. She felt a blast of air upon her face, heard the sickening crunch as metal punched its way through bone and the horrified, pain-filled scream of the man behind her that trailed off into a thick gargling. Yet, she herself felt no pain.

The man's fingers loosened themselves from her hair. The hand around her waist holding her to him slackened. The tense, rigid body behind her relaxed. She feared for a moment that she had gone deaf as the silence following the commotion seemed to engulf her. She considered simply giving in to the quiet and letting it consume her, let it carry her away from this horrible place and time.

It was a soft trilling that drew her back and forced her to open her eyes. Immediately, she wished she hadn't as she found herself neatly pinned to the person behind her curtesy of the creature's blades which were situated snugly on either side of her slender neck and sank deep into the man's chest. She also became aware of a warm, wetness that seemed to run from the back of her neck in small rivulets and down between her shoulder blades. She only hoped that she wasn't the one leaking.

She suddenly realized all too well that the creature could have very easily sliced her head from the rest of her body had it wanted to. She was barely able to repress a shudder, possibly preventing herself from slitting her own thoat open on the razor sharp blades, as she looked up into the hollow voids that hid the creature's eyes.

She blinked slowly as her exhausted brain tried to process what had just occured, her mouth opening and closing soundlessly as her mind couldn't come up with any words. It could have killled her. It should have killed her. It could have impaled its weapon straight through her and killed them both easily. Yet, it hadn't. It had killed the man, the aggressor, but she still lived.

The creature straightened then, its posture relaxing ever so slightly as it tilted its head at her almost questioningly, almost as if it were inquiring as to her state of being. A careful tug and the creature's weapon slid free of the man's body behind her, freeing her. The blades made a sick, wet, sucking sound as they were retracted back through the meat and bone that had once been a living human being. That alone was almost enough to make her want to vomit. The sound of the limp carcass hitting the ground behind her with a dull thud made her jump.

Any relief she may have felt at the man's demise was tramped down by the realization that she was now alone with this...monster. She had seen what it could do to a full-grown man armed with a rifle. Plainly stated, she stood no chance against this thing. Her life literally depended on whatever course of action the creature planned to pursue next.

XXXXXXXXXX

They stared at one another, one in curiosity the other in fear. Both wishing they could see what was going on in the other's head. This game, the rolls they had both fufilled as Hunter and Prey, had bound them loosely together and brought them to this point, to the conclusion. As they continued to look at one another, both acknowledged this in their own way; one with a bit of a thrill, the other with trepidation.

It was the distinctive sound of an engine announcing the imminent approach of a vehicle that finally broke the spell of the moment. The woman's breath hitched in her throat as she dared a glance in the direction of the sound. She looked back at the Hunter as she took a couple tentative steps back. When he made no move to halt her, merely tilted his head and trilled, she took a couple more and a couple more, soon finding herself sprinting down the road in the direction of the motor as fast as her legs could carry her.

XXXXXXXXXX

"STOP! Please stop!" She ran as fast as her body would allow down the dirt access road toward the green pickup truck, waving her arms. Tears of relief ran freely down her face as the truck rolled to a stop and she flung herself across the hood, embracing the warm steel as one would a long lost love. "Thank you, God...thank you..."

"Jesus Christ!" The ranger jumped out of the truck and immediately came around to the woman who was openly weeping. Shrugging off his jacket, he wrapped it around her bare shoulders "What happened to you? Is that blood? Are you alright?"

She shook her head, her eyes pleading with the man as her hands fisted the front of his shirt. "We have to get out of here! Its back there! It killed him! It killed him...!"

"What? Slow down a second..." The ranger gently untangled her hands from his uniform and held them in his own. "Is someone with you? Are they hurt?" He looked off down the road when in the direction she had indicated.

"No!" The woman shook her head frantically and seized him by the arm. "We have to go now!"

"Ma'am, if someone else is hurt..."

"You don't understand! He's dead! He's fucking dead! It killed him! We need to get out of here!" Sobbing now, the woman released him. "He's still there. He'll kill you, too. He could kill both of us. Please...!"

The ranger considered his options for a moment. The woman's near hysterics put him at unease. He nodded hesitantly. "Okay..." Gripping her gently by her upper arms, he turned her toward the idling vehicle. "Just...God, um...let's get you in the truck. Everything's going to be fine. I'm going to take you someplace safe and I'm calling the police. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you, okay?"

Nodding, the woman clambered quickly inside the vehicle at his direction, immediately locking the door as it slammed shut behind her. Her entire body trembled violently. She wanted desperately to believe she was safe but a small part of her overworked mind kept telling her that the creature would spring out at any moment and thwart her escape.

"How bad are you hurt?" The ranger again gave her the once over after sliding in behind the wheel, obviously concerned due to the blood that decorated her badly bruised body in various locations.

She said nothing, simply pressed her hands over the shallow, bloody gashes across her chest. They didn't have time for this roadside triage. It was out there...probably watching them. It could be stalking them right now, waiting for a chance to strike. They needed to get moving before it was too late.

She barely restrained the urge to scream at the man to put the truck in gear and get them out of there. He must have sensed her eagerness to vacate the area as he quickly slammed the truck into reverse and spun them around to face the opposite direction. Immediately shifting into drive, the ranger floored the accelerator and they were soon kicking up a cloud of dust as the truck sped away from the horror in the woods.

"Everything is going to be okay, now..."

She sat rigidly in the passenger seat as the truck continued to speed down the access road toward civilization. She nodded her head in response to the questions the ranger asked her and grunted out short yes and no answers from between her dry, cracked lips. She didn't really hear him, though. Her thoughts were still on the creature, on that passive mask, those sharp blades that had come so close to decapitating her and wondering why she had been spared.

XXXXXXXXXX

He watched the female run down the road toward the sound of the engine until she disappeared. He fought his natural instinct to pursue, to hunt. Instead, he focused his attention at the broken, bloody carcass that lay at his feet. Kneeling, he turned the body face up, looking intently at the male's mutilated face he imagined what the skull underneath would look like polished to a high shine. Such a shame for it to go to waste. It may not hold any value for him, but perhaps...

He staightened slightly as he mulled over his thoughts. Deciding there was no harm in what he was planning he stood suddenly, bending to haul the limp body up onto one broad shoulder. It was perhaps a bit unorthodox but there would be no gross indiscretion on his part, no blatant breaking of the rules. Afterall, it wasn't completely unheard of. Satisfied that he wasn't committing some grievous error in judgement, he trilled softly to himself as he strolled casually back into the trees to dress his kill.

To be continued...

**Author's Note: I'm not too keen on the way this one turned out. There are parts I just couldn't get to do what I wanted so I gave up. It isn't as bad as it could be but it could have been better. I've decided that some things just don't translate well onto the page. I'm tired of wresting with it. So, there you go! I hope you all got at least some enjoyment out of it. **

**As always, many thank you's to everyone who weighed in on the last chapter! **

**predator808: I hope you enjoyed the update! **

**tain89: I agree Psycho Fudd deserved everything that happened to him. **

**QuickStar: I'm glad you found the update 'acceptable', lol. I'm not sure I'd call where the story is going romance exactly...at least not the kind you're used to reading on here (plus, I'm sure I'll have to tone it down a bit more than I'd like...its sad really, there's quite a few bits and pieces that didn't make it into this version of the story due to site 'rules'). As for actual character names instead of titles, you'll have to wait and see. **

**Syver'ti: You changed your name! I like it! Sick and depraved is my favorite kind of story, lol. Yes, Bunny has Fudd goo on her and is in desperate need of a shower among other things. I too like Fudd...err, fudge on my icecream =) **

**Sky66: Dark is my middle name! Well, not really...its Alexandria, but still. I like my stories a little on the dark side. Can't you tell? I fully intend to take this 'romance' business in a different direction...if thats what you want to call it. This is not going to be one of those stories where human and yautja settle down together happily ever after and have lots of big-headed alien babies. No, no, no...Tet likes to go against the grain. *wink* **

**Kurokajin: The site tends to screw up most of my reviews (which is why I don't review stories I enjoy as often as I should). I should follow your example and start to copy/paste. Anywho...yes, Crazy Guy (may he rest in peace) was kinda like the energizer bunny from Hades. But, he was insane. Completely and totally insane. I'm glad you are enjoying my writing. I try to be descriptive without overdoing it on the details. I can't stand when it takes a person four paragraphs just to tell you what color the sky is, know what I mean? I am going to expand on the plot so updates may start to come slower. I want to approach it in the right way. I don't want this to turn into a cliche romance novel or something, lol. I'll think about posting up the original ending...I think that's a cool idea. Also, I don't mind if anyone PMs me or emails me or whatever. If anyone feels like dropping me a line (or the site butchers your review, lol) go for it! **

**hoot13: As you can see, they've met, lol. I'm sure it is an introduction Bunny will never forget. **

**Vampire Hunter D's Girl: I hope you enjoyed the update! **

**SesshiraRayu: I agree. I had to get the poor girl some help. I wasn't sure how much more she'd be able to stand, lol. Hope you enjoyed! **

**lordnitemare: I love chocolate icecream! I really wish I could draw because I have this really disturbing picture floating around in my head of what Crazy Guy would look like without skin. I wish you guys could see it, lol. I hope Crazy's death met with your approval. I wanted to traumatize Bunny a bit more before I let her sort of get away. **

**Solosan: Glad you liked the whole 'skinning Crazy' thing, lol. I thought it was fitting. I guess Psycho Dude thought Bunny might have a little loyalty since he had her first and all. The criminally insane rarely make sense, though. I thought him up late at night after watching one too many crime shows. Bunny was traumatized before, but I think now she may be scarred for life. And thank you for not sending your pack of aliens out to get me! I was tired of sleeping in my closet! **

**katz579: Last minute reviewers for the win! Lol, I'm glad you like this demented little story. I hope you enjoyed the update!**

**I shall see you all at the next chapter! Its already written so I hope to have it up in a day or two as soon as I finish going over it. I'm really happy with it! **

**Tet **


	13. Chapter 13

**FYI...This chapter was originally intended to be the final chapter of this little saga. Needless to say, the ending has been altered to facilitate an expansion of the plot. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I have no claim to Predator.**

Catch and Release

Chapter 13

"And now for our top news story this hour...Heather?"

"Thanks, Tim." The perky, blond newswoman shuffled the papers in front of her as she smiled into the camera. "At this hour, the FBI and local authorities are still combing George Washington National Forest for any clue as to the whereabouts of suspected serial killer Thomas McDowell. McDowell, a 31 year old drifter originally from Knoxville, Tennessee, is the prime suspect in the gruesome deaths of at least 12 women and five men including his own father.

"Police were alerted by park authorities early yesterday morning when one of McDowell's intended victims escaped and managed to flag down help. The woman, whose identity is still being withheld at this time, was found by a park ranger who in turn contacted the Alleghany County Sherriff's Department. The woman was transported to a local hospital for observation and is currently listed as being in good condition and said to be resting comfortably. Police and federal authorities have declined to comment further on the case at this time pending a full investigation."

"Should you have any knowledge as to the whereabouts of Thomas McDowell, pictured here, you are asked to contact the Alleghany County Sherriff's Department or call the FBI tip line at the bottom of your screen. McDowell should be considered armed and dangerous. We'll keep you up to date on any new information regarding this situation as it becomes available. Tim?"

"Thanks, Heather." Tim, a man wearing a bad hair piece with overly white teeth, nodded at the peppy blond before looking back into the camera and putting on a comically serious expression. "Coming up after the break...Are we being visited by creatures from another planet? A Harrisonburg man claims to have seen what he has described as a UFO near his property..."

_Click._

The woman tossed the remote onto the bedside table and plopped back against the stiff, hospital-issued pillows. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes. The reality of the fate she had just barely escaped still hadn't completely sunk in. She was in shock, her doctors had told her. No kidding? She couldn't imagine why. It wasn't everyday you were stalked through the woods and nearly killed by a lunatic with a rifle...or saved by what could very well have been a monster out of one of your most horrific nightmares.

The police had finally left her a few hours ago with the exception of a single officer posted outside her door in the hallway for security purposes. They, of course, had many questions to ask her. Who? What? When? Where? How? She had answered them all to the best of her ability...at least to the point she figured they would believe and understand. She may have omitted the part about the seven-and-a-half foot tall alien-man-thing that had decided to intervene in her plight. Sure, they may have written her ramblings off as the ranting of a traumatized mind but she didn't want to take any chances and find herself locked up in the psychiatric wing of the hospital. God knows she had had her fill of being treated like an animal for one lifetime.

The bright flash of lighting and the low, rolling boom of thunder that followed caused her eyes to open. She let her gaze wander toward the lone window of her room. The rivulets of rain water pouring down the glass gave the darkened, twilight world outside a skewed, wavy look. The way the water rippled over the glass and distorted her vision eerily reminded her of the thing she had encountered in the woods before it had made itself known for what it truly was. She shuddered involuntarily at the memory.

She knew she would ever be able to erase the events that transpired from her mind no matter how long she lived. She didn't doubt that it would plague her for the rest of her life in the form of nightmares. Still, the fine line between reality and imagination seemed to blur now that she was within the safe confines of the hospital. She was second guessing exactly what she had seen. How much had been real and how much had been the conjuring of an overworked mind trying to stave off certain death? She was no longer sure. The edges had all seemed to run together. What she knew as fact and what her mind was willing to accept were two different things.

Another flash of lightening briefly illuminated the outside as she continued to watch the patterns the rain made on the glass. What seemed like a slight movement beyond the window caught her eye causing her breath to catch in her throat. Her heart rate kicked up a notch. She sat up suddenly and swung her bruised and bandaged legs over the side of the bed, leaning forward as she squinted to get a better look at what she thought she had seen. It had only been a fleeting glimpse illuminated by a single streak of lightening but she could have sworn...

"No." She shook her head and leaned back slightly. She was in shock...she probably had post traumatic stress. Of course she was seeing things. Who wouldn't be after going through what she had? There was no way the thing from the forest could know where she was. What reason would it have to follow her, for that matter? She had left it behind along with the police and federal agents who were beating the bushes trying to find the sicko who had taken her out there. She hadn't had the heart to tell them that they would probably never find him...at least in the condition they were expecting to. She dreaded the questions _that_ would raise.

Convincing herself it was only her imagination, she worked up enough courage to rise from her bed and limp to the window. Wide-eyed and jittery, she rested her hands on the cool window sill as she scrutinized her view. The intermittent streak of lightening and the soft, orange pulse-flash of the helicopter landing beacon on the opposite roof top gave her enough light to make out most of the hospital grounds beneath her window. There was nothing there. She let out a gush of air she hadn't even realized she had been holding.

"Ms. Adams?"

"Shit!" She jumped and spun around as a hand fell lightly on her shoulder. Her own hand flew to her heart causing her to wince involuntarily at the contact with her wounds there. "You scared me..."

The nurse, a round, jolly-looking woman wearing cheerful, yellow scrubs and a crisp, white lab coat nodded in apology. "I'm sorry, Ms. Adams, but you really shouldn't be out of bed."

"Shelley..." The woman took one more careful, sweeping look out of the window before allowing the nurse to escort her back to her bed. "Please, just call me Shelley."

"Shelley..." The nurse smiled kindly. "You shouldn't be up on your feet. The doctor wants you to get some rest. I brought you something to help you sleep. He figured you could use it after everything you've been through to help you relax." She held out a small paper cup with a blue pill inside of it. "Here, take this. I'll get you some water."

"Rest is good." Shelley took the small cup from her and tossed the pill into her mouth, chasing it with the equally small cup of water the nurse poured for her. She settled back against the pillows and pulled the thin, faded, pink comforter up to her chin.

"Try to sleep." The nurse smiled softly and patted her knee through the blankets. "If you need anything just press the call button. I'll be right outside at the nurse's station."

"Thank you." Shelley stared up at the darkened ceiling waiting for the pill to perform its magic and suck her down into what she hoped would be a deep, dreamless sleep. The constant patter of big, fat raindrops splattering against the window helped to lull her closer and closer to blissful oblivion.

Minutes ticked by slowly. As the meds worked their way through her system Shelley felt her eyelids growing heavier. The sound of rain grew more and more distant as she teetered on the brink of consciousness. Shifting into a more comfortable position she found herself once again looking toward the window, the pattern of the water cascading down the window almost fooling her into believing that there was indeed something out there before her eyes finally drifted shut and sleep claimed her.

XXXXXXXXXX

Shelley's eyes fluttered open and she was immediately relieved to find herself safe and sound in her bed. Trauma induced dreams and delusions had kept her rest from being truly restful. She figured she couldn't have been out for more than a couple hours. She tossed her head from side to side to rid it of the lingering cobwebs the medication had left.

Someone had tucked the covers around her tightly as she slept, almost too tight. Suddenly feeling hot and restricted, she kicked off the offending blankets. It was still dark outside but the rain had apparently stopped while she was sleeping. The utter silence of the dark room around her only encouraged her to reflect on the surreal terror of the nightmares that had plagued her short sleep. Rifle wielding madmen, alien monsters, dark, sinister trees reaching their boney, finger-like branches toward her...she shivered. Her own mind had become her worst enemy.

The dreams had seemed so real...almost as real as her ordeal in the woods. Not wanting to linger on the horrible things her mind continued to drudge up, she decided the best thing she could do would be to distract her mind with something else before she became bogged down in her own angst. Her sanity was hanging by a precarious thread as it was. Letting her imagination get the best of her would not help matters. What was done was done. It was over. She was thankful to be alive. She wouldn't dwell on what could have happened.

She reached blindly through the darkness toward the bedside table where she had tossed the remote. In her experience, she had found nothing was more mentally numbing than watching hour after hour of droning, meaningless pop culture drivel presented in all its Technicolor glory by happy, shiny, nauseatingly fake people for the sake of dumbed-down, cheap entertainment. Instead of cool, hard plastic meeting her fingertips, however, her hands encountered something warm and slick and wet. With a startled cry, she jerked her hand away and groped for the light.

"Oh...God..." Shelley's eyes widened in terror as the dim reading light illuminated the area around her bed and she found herself staring back into the empty eye sockets of a human skull. Recognition filled her instantly. There was no doubt in her mind that the skull, complete with spinal column and still covered in a sheen of rainwater and red, bloody gore, belonged to the man that had hunted her. The skull's rictus grin bore too much of a striking resemblance to the cigarette-yellowed, deranged smile of her stalker to belong to anyone else.

Shelley felt the vomit rise in her throat and, as she gagged in revulsion, a new sound filled the once silent hospital room. The soft chittering sent chills through her entire body. Her breathing quickened as awareness of another presence filled her entire being. She turned her head slowly, terrified of what she was about to see and hoping the whole thing was just another cruel trick being played by an abused and overactive imagination.

It was there, just as she feared it would be, watching her through the dark eyes of it's expressionless mask. It seemed to be judging her reaction to its 'gift'. It made a low purring sound and tilted its head as if curious about what she intended to do now that the pleasantries were over. It clicked and trilled at her as she pressed herself against the backboard of the bed and clutched the covers to her chest.

The creature made no effort to move. It merely stood their gazing at her with those empty eyes, its posture relaxed and unconcerned. Its low, deep purr vibrated the very air in the room.

Shelley struggled to form coherent thought, to form words. Was it here to kill her as surely as it had the man? For the moment it didn't seem...threatening. Dare she attempt to speak to it? Would it even understand her? Did it really matter if she was about to die? She supposed not. Swallowing the lump that had materialized in her throat, she forced her mouth to work. "What do you want?"

The creature shifted its weight from one foot to the other as if uncertain about either the question she asked or the expected response. Its slight movement caused Shelley to shrink back even further. As if sensing her anxiety, the purring increased minutely in volume. The soothing sound, much like a large, contented cat would make, attempted to lull her into a sense of calm.

'_Nothing is wrong here'_, the sound seemed to convey. '_Everything is fine_.' It may have worked as Shelley felt the tension in her muscles ease ever so slightly.

Seemingly pleased with her response, the creature slowly brought its hands up to its mask and disconnected the tubes that connected to it causing a small spray of pressurized gasses to escape. Realizing she was about to see its true face caused a knot of nervous anticipation to form in Shelley's stomach. Terrified of what she might be about to see and yet at the same time unable to turn away, Shelley watched unblinking as the creature splayed its mottled hands over the mask's surface and pulled, the seal giving with a soft pop.

She gasped. Her mind couldn't even muster up enough sense to scream about what now stood across the small room. She had known it wasn't human. She had expected it to look...different, but nothing her imagination could have dreamed up would have prepared her for what was before her. She desperately wished it had kept its mask on.

Her eyes were immediately drawn to its wicked-looking maw, the most alien of its features. The creature's dangerous-looking, sharp inner teeth were framed by four crab-like appendages that seemed to be extensions of its jaws, tipped with smooth, white, ivory tusks. The appendages moved independently of one another as the creature made a noise deep in its chest that sounded eerily like a chuckle. Apparently, it found her expression quite amusing.

Startled, Shelley managed to rip her eyes away from the thing's mouth only to meet its unwavering gaze. Its eyes, set deep beneath a heavy brow that led up to a high crested forehead, were the color of honey. The intelligence she had instinctively known would be there sparkled in their depths and she found its seemingly intense scrutiny unsettling as it looked back at her. She could almost see the gears in its head turning as it studied her.

For a brief moment a look flitted across its face that she could only classify as uncertainty. It looked away from her then, its fingers flexing and its mandibles twitching in a way that led her to believe it was deep in contemplation. Then, as if reaching a decision, it squared its shoulders confidently and turned back to her. It tilted its head and purred softly, reassuringly. The thick ropes of what passed for its hair clattered together as it took a slow, deliberate step toward her...and another...and another...until it was standing next to the side of the bed. A deep voice, rough and gritty, rumbled out of the creature.

"Buh-neh..."

A jolt of fear shot through her at hearing the creature speak the name she had been given by the madman in the forest. She flinched and ducked her head, expecting the worst as one large, taloned hand seized her under her chin, tipping her head back until she had no choice but to meet those intense, amber eyes. Her eyes widened fearfully as the creature bent toward her, bringing their faces so close together that barely a hair's breadth was between them.

Shelley had not realized how large the creature really was until it was very nearly on top of her. Intimidation did not begin to express what Shelley felt due to the creature's close proximity and the strong, warm hand that held her head immobile and that could just as easily snap her neck. Wishing she could close her eyes to block out reality but unable to look away from the creature's frightening visage, Shelley screamed silently in her own mind praying that her nurse, the officer in the hallway, an orderly...anyone at all would come to her aid.

The creature's eyes roamed over her face, analyzing her features as it turned her head this way and that. When its free hand came up and tangled in her soft, brown hair, rubbing the strands between its fingers, Shelley whimpered in distress. It moved quickly causing her to yelp as it buried its snout in the top of her head, inhaling deeply. Shelley could feel its mandibles move against the skin of her scalp as it exhaled slowly, its breath warming the crown of her head. It prattled low in its throat as it pulled away, seeming to be satisfied with its examination, and once again locked its gaze on her face.

It was too much for Shelley. Her fear had reached a crescendo. The creature's closeness, the warmth that its body radiated, its intense perusal of her all pushed her closer to the edge. She had survived being stalked by a sociopathic serial killer. She had survived being lost in the woods. Having her personal space violated by the same being she had witnessed stalk, skin, impale and apparently behead her tormentor, however, finally broke her. Having no physical outlet, nowhere left to escape to, Shelley's mind sought its own refuge as her eyes rolled into the back of her head and her world was enveloped in darkness.

To be continued...

**Author's Note: What can I say? I've been up all night watching movies with a friend and figured what the hell…I'll go ahead and get this cleaned up and posted. I've become rather attached to these two. We'll see what happens. I'm also happy that 'Bunny' finally has a name! As for Mr. Preddy...he's still rolling incognito. Now I suppose I'll have to name him, too. If anyone has any suggestions for a good one, lay it on me! **

**Thanks to all of you that have read and reviewed. **

**Solosan: Adequate??? All I get is adequate??? I'm gonna have to work harder it seems. You know I don't mean to lead you on with the TBCs and whatnot…lol. As for Mr. Pred, his intentions were good. The woman formerly known as Bunny just doesn't have an appreciation for the finer things in life (like bloody, human skulls). As for a run-in between Bunny and myself in RL…I think I could take her, lol.**

**Random hyper person: Ha, ha! That part makes me laugh, too.**

**SesshiraRayu: Alas, the poor thing never made it home…**

**Syver'ti: Happy-crack, lol. I love it!**

**Tain89: The poor woman may be beyond therapy at this point. A full frontal lobotomy may be the only way she'll ever again get a decent night's sleep. **

**Allison: You hit the nail on the head! I hope you enjoyed the update!**

**Till we meet again, **

**Amentet**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Predator. Wish I did but I don't.**

Catch and Release

Chapter 14

He removed his armor slowly. After meticulously cleaning each and every piece of the blood, dirt and gore it had accumulated during his time on Earth, he reverently placed each individual accoutrement into its proper place alongside the weapons he had already cleaned and stowed. The time and care he placed into the task was merely a distraction, however.

Upon reflection, he could see that he had most certainly overstepped his bounds. It was not unheard of to acknowledge prey that had shown themselves to be worthy of respect with a small token of appreciation but then again, it had not been the female he had been hunting. Despite that, for whatever reason, she had managed to intrigue him. She was a novelty, a curiosity. He had made the conscious decision to pursue the enigma she presented.

Had he stopped at gifting the female with the skull of the male, he would have been well within the realm of acceptable conduct. Yet, he had lingered far longer than was appropriate given the circumstances, his inquisitiveness demanding satisfaction. Without so much as a thought for the consequences, he had indulged himself.

His close inspection of the female had been a lapse in judgement but the ooman had been too tempting to study, his curiosity too strong to ignore and as such he had blatantly ignored the rules of engagement. It had been the first time he had ever veered away from the protocols that had been laid out before him. He was a bit surprised at the gnawing guilt he felt, the unfamiliar, scandalous sense of wrong-doing. It was too late to go back. The damage had already been done.

He rattled deep in his chest as he placed his mask onto the shelf reserved for it. Now, nearly nude except for the scant loin cloth that hung low around his hips, he tried to find something else to busy himself with. Running one mottled, greenish-gray hand over his face, he reached for the mesh bag that held some of the trophies he had collected during his hunt. He snatched it from the floor and tried his best to ignore the fur-covered lump that rested on top of his bunk as he started for the exit of his sleeping chamber.

He was almost to the door when a small noise gave him pause. He stiffened and listened carefully for any further sound, his head cocked to the side. When the whimper repeated itself he hesitated a moment before reluctantly dropping the bag by the door and turning back toward the sound. Moving silently, he drew close and carefully eased himself down next to the heap of pelts that rested on his bunk. Reaching out with one hand he slowly pulled the fur back to reveal what was beneath and once again wondered what had possessed him when he made the decision to bring a live animal back to his ship. Certainly, his Sire wouldn't have approved.

He thought he had accidentally killed it at first. The way its eyes had rolled into the back of its head showing only the whites and how its body became completely limp and pliant at his touch had suggested as much. It was only its shallow breath and the occasional involuntary twitch of a muscle that told him otherwise. He had hunted other species who would fake death in order to escape the clutches of a potential predator. Perhaps, he had mused at the time, the response to his perusual was some sort of defense mechanism.

He should have left the it for the other oomans to deal with, he knew, but the thought of leaving empty-handed weighed heavily on him. Before he could convince himself otherwise, he had hauled the unresponsive female up onto one broad shoulder and was making his way across the rooftops back to his small hunting vessel. It wasn't until he was well out of the blue planet's orbit that he actually began to analyze what it was he had done.

The evidence of his indiscretion now lay uncovered before him. The ooman female was curled in upon itself. Her knees were drawn up to her chest and her arms wrapped protectively around her torso. The naked skin of her arms seemed to pebble at the exposure to the air. He ran the pads of his fingers down her arm, stopping to examine the small band of plastic she now wore around her wrist before sweeping his fingers back up to her shoulder causing the small bumps to stand out in even greater relief. He marveled for a moment in her change of texture and for the first time noted the extremely fine, nearly invisible hairs that covered the areas of her body that the strange clothing she wore left unprotected.

While he knew she wasn't anywhere near as large as a female of his own kind, her current postion made her appear positively tiny. She seemed to be almost drowning in the thin, billowing material the ooman healers had dressed her in. Her fleshy mouth twisted down into what he believed was the ooman equivalent of a frown and her eyes flitted back and forth behind her eyelids leading him to believe that she was experiencing some sort of dream. That is, if oomans were even capable of such.

He made a chuffing sound as he bent forward over the small form. He could smell her natural scent better now that she had been cleaned of the blood and filth she had picked up back in the forest. It was a soft, subtle, distinctive feminine scent; slightly sweet and mingled with the subtle tang of sweat that had begun to bead across her brow. It vaguely brought to mind images of the stunningly beautiful females that waited back at the Clan Ship.

One female in particular he had been hoping to impress with the trophies from his hunt. She was greatly desired by many as a potential mate and the competition for her affections was fierce. He wanted desperately to convince her that he was worth much more than just a passing glance and the occasional fuck. Being slightly younger and slightly less experienced than his counterparts, he had worked extra hard to draw and keep her attention. She would see soon enough how dedicated he was, how much honor and prestige he was capable of bringing her. There was no doubt in his mind that he would have her.

A ragged whine brought him out of his thoughts and he looked down upon his acquisition. The ooman's face was scrunched up and he caught the faintest whiff of fear coming from her. He tilted his head in contemplation. Perhaps oomans did dream after all. Purring softly, he gently smoothed one hand over the soft mop of messy, brown hair that adorned her head, stroking her as one would a pet. The ooman jolted slightly at the initial contact before settling and relaxing into the touch.

Satisfied with the way the unconscious ooman stilled beneath his hand, the Hunter continued with the motions for a long moment before pulling his hand back and rising from the bunk. Tugging the pelt back over the female, he moved to retrieve the bag he had left at the door and took one final glance at the form on his bed. Despite the knowledge that he was in the wrong for what he had done, a small part of him was secretly pleased with his new possession. What he would do with it once it woke, however, remained to be seen.

XXXXXXXXXX

She was falling. The sinking feeling in her stomach made her whimper as the ground rushed up to meet her. She squeezed her eyes shut. Any moment now she would hit the bottom and it would all be over. There would be no more rifle-weilding lunatics, no more alien monsters, no more Bunny...

Shelley jerked awake with a gasp. Her heart pounded hard behind her ribcage. Her hands flew to her head expecting to find herself once again sporting a set of grimy rabbit ears. When her fingertips met only unevenly sheared locks and a tender scalp where the kind people at the hospital had cut away chunks of her hair and doused her head with acetone in their removal of her offending head piece, she relaxed. Still half asleep, she found herself unconsciously snuggling back into the warm nest of fur she currently resided in.

_Fur..._

Shelley became fully alert instantly. She bolted upright causing the soft, grey pelt to fall away from her and in doing so revealing the ever-so-stylish hospital gown and robe she still wore. The absence of light in the room made it hard for her to discern her surroundings but it was obvious to her that she was no longer within the confines of her hospital room. The strange feel of the bed she rested on and the luxurious fur that surrounded her left no doubt.

She squinted her eyes in an attempt to pierce the darkness, to try to make some sense of where she was. She rose unsteadily from the bed, cinching the robe tighter around her waist as she took her first tentative steps. The smooth floor was cold on her bare feet and she winced slightly at having to bear her weight on her injured soles. With one outstreched arm, she used the nearest wall for support.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Her voice, although barely a whisper and shakey, seemed to echo unnaturally loud in her ears. Using the wall as a guide, she felt her way around the periphery of the room. There seemed to be no doors, no windows...no way out of wherever she was. The first inklings of panic ran through her as she took a shuddering breath. "Hello?! Anybody?!"

Something was terribly wrong here. She could feel it in her gut. Pressing her back against the rough wall, she fought to maintain her composure. Sucking in great gulps of air through her mouth, she willed her heart to calm. Closing her eyes, she slowly counted to ten. There had to be a perfectly reasonable, sane explanation for her current predicament.

Reopening her eyes, Shelley began to grope along the wall once again. There had to be a light switch, a doorknob...something. If she got in here there had to be a way out. Her fingers stilled as they ghosted over a slightly raised protrusion. Taking a deep breath and holding it, Shelley pressed down on what she assumed was a switch of some kind.

A slight mechanical hum filled the room as the first sliver of dim light snaked through a widening crack in the wall. It was a window, she realized with a feeling of both relief and fear. Pressing her palms against the chilly porthole, it took Shelley's mind a moment to process what she was seeing.

Never before had she seen such utter blackness. It was a darkness broken by thousands of pinpricks of light. It was like a drape of black velvet, dusted with glitter and there, cradled in the center of it all, shining like a rare jewel on display was the Earth. Shelley was torn between awe and terror as her brain worked feverishly to comprehend.

"Oh, my God..." Something clicked inside Shelley's mind and the last recollection of what had happened before darkness had claimed her came rushing back to her. The hospital. The creature. The bloody, human skull...

Dizzy and frightened, she staggered backwards away from the window. This couldn't be what she thought it was. This couldn't be happening. It couldn't. Surely this was just another dream, another horrible nightmare she would soon wake up from. She pinched herself hard, eliciting nothing but pain and more fear.

Shelley's fight or flight instinct kicked in and the need to run, to escape, to be anywhere other than where she currently stood became so great that it could not be ingnored. She spun around quickly only to find that her route of egress was blocked by a broad, well-muscled chest. Whimpering, her eyes slowly trekked upward over the body before her until they met those honey-colored eyes.

To Be Continued...

**Author's Note: Sorry for the delay in getting an update posted. I've been struggling with a bit of writer's block. I figured the best way to get through it was to just sit down and force myself to write. You just read the result...it sucks. I hope it wasn't too awful. I just need to get my train of thought back on the right track. **

**Thank you as always to everyone who has reviewed or offered their opinions. I appreciate the feedback. It helps me to know what I'm doing right and what I need to work on. **

**lordnitemare: If I were you I'd keep a close eye on this Thom person... **

**Citizen Cobalt: Poor Preddy isn't having much luck with the lady. Looks like more trauma for Bunny/Shelley. Poor girl can't win for losing. And, YES...there are more juicy parts. I'm working on putting my 'original' version back together. I may upload it as well when I'm done. **

**SesshiraRayu: Well...at least she's out of the woods =) **

**Royal Frog: This story is going on a different course than I expected, as well. I did intend to originally end it with her being saved but figured what the hell... *shrugs* I'm gonna go with it! **

**arianin: Thank you =) **

**Solosan: You seriously need to write your password down somewhere, lol. You crack me up! Adequate is acceptable. I'll take it for now. I'll have to work harder to impress you in the future *wink* **

**Vampire Hunter D's Girl: Thanks a lot =) **

**QuickStar: I'm glad you enjoyed the update! **

**tain89: You'll have to wait and see =) **

**Vaeru: It is amazing the difference a name makes. I'm glad you liked the 'examination' scene, lol. Hopefully this also sort of answered 'the ear' question some people have had. YES, they are gone, lol. That's probably the only good thing that's happened to Bunny/Shelley since the story started. Also, thanks so much for Preddy name suggestions! **

**Allison: Thank you for the suggestions. I will keep all those things in mind while naming Mr. Preddy. I promise to make it pronouncable! **

**katz579: Thanks! =) **

**F1yIn6-4c0Rn: Wow...I really had to concentrate to type your name, lol. Thanks so much! I work hard on the descriptions. I don't like when people just list out a character's attributes. Its much more fun to discover them while you read. YES! The poor girl did finally lose the ears, lol. **

**random hyper person: Lol! You are too funny! I hope you enjoyed the update and thank you for the name suggestion! **

**olpchick: Aww...thank you! =) **

**Kurokajin: I agree. No amount of therapy is ever going to make what Shelley's been through ok. I tried to make that scene as realistic as I could. I know I would probably piss myself if that ever happened to me. Shelley, at least, has a strong bladder, lol. I checked out the song you mentioned. It does fit quite well with the last few chaps. I like it! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this mediocre offering.**

**Anyway, I hope to have the next one to you guys sooner than this one. I have managed to accidentally run into quite an intriguing person lurking in the shadows of another site who happened to have read this story and has offered me assistance in anything that I may need a bit of help on. I've been able to bounce some ideas off of him and he seems quite knowledgable in all things Predator...perhaps a bit too knowledgable. Hmm... **

**Till next time, **

**Tet**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: Original characters and plot? Mine. The Predator franchise? Not mine. **

**FYI...Again, Mr. Preddy's speech has been translated and put in italics. English really isn't his friend and Shelley/Bunny does not speak 'Predese'. What we have here is a failure to communicate...**

Catch and Release

Chapter 15

The female froze in her movement and looked up at him apprehensively. The tension in her body told him that she longed to flee, yet her fear of him kept her rooted to the place she stood. The scent of her distress hung thick in the air, coaxing a low growl from him as he kept her paralyzed with his unwavering gaze. His brow furrowed as she flinched in response to the sound, a soft whimper coming from between her fleshy lips.

He clicked absently as he studied her trembling form. A frightened ooman was not something one would want wandering a ship unsupervised. If he truly intended on keeping his acquisition for any length of time there would have to be rules and boundaries. There would need to be some sort of rudimentary understanding between them. The ooman would need to learn its place.

Determined to establish his authority in the situation early on, he took a purposeful step toward her. "_Ooman..._"

The female started at the sound of his voice echoing in the otherwise silent sleeping chamber. Her large eyes flitted to the left and right as if seeking out some route of escape. Finding herself effectively blocked in between the wall and his muscled bulk, the female hesitantly met his gaze once again. Her eyes, he noted, glittered with a moisture that threatened to spill over and down her face.

The ooman swallowed audibly and raised its hands defensively in front of itself as it took a small, tentative step backwards away from him. "Please..."

He cocked his head to one side, suddenly wishing he had paid more attention to the language spoken in the region of the planet the female hailed from. It would have greatly benefited him in the current situation. Then again, he had not been there to study the culture, nor had he anticipated bringing any of the native wildlife back with him. Still, the pleading tone of her voice and the panicked look in her eyes told him all that he needed to know.

He trilled softly. A skittish animal was no good to have around and could only bring undesired discord and upset. She feared for her life and as such, the possibility of her behaving irrationally to the current arrangement increased exponentially. That was something he did not need as he tried to wrap his mind around exactly what he had been thinking in bringing her with him in the first place.

He took another step forward, grasping at her with one taloned hand in the hopes of reining her in quickly before she bolted and he was forced to pursue her through his own ship. He addressed her in his native tongue as he advanced upon her. "_You will not be harmed..."_

The ooman, apparently misinterpreting his sudden action as hostile in intent, screeched in terror as it spun around and stumbled clumsily back toward the window in an attempt to avoid his hold. In its haste to get away, the ooman's legs tangled together in the loose material of its clothing causing it to crash to the floor. The female landed with a grunt and, using her arms to pull herself along, continued her retreat until she met the bulkhead and could go no further. Even so, her fingers continued to scratch at the wall as if she believed she could somehow claw her way to freedom. Her panicked exclamations echoed loudly in the closed quarters as she watched him approach with wide eyes.

This would not be as simple as he had hoped.

Grinding his teeth against the shrill sound the female emitted, he caught her by the scruff of the neck and hauled her effortlessly up off the ground as if she weighed nothing. The ooman thrashed violently in his grip, prompting him to bring his other arm around her, effectively pinning her against his chest. She kicked at his shins with her bare feet, twisting and contorting in an effort to escape his vice-like grip. Her blunt fingernails dug into the tough skin of his forearm as he tried his best to subdue her without causing her further injury.

"_Do not fight me, female_." He hissed into the ooman's ear as he tightened his hold around her waist. "_You cannot win_."

An almost deafening shriek and an increase in the tenacity of her struggle was his answer. Soon caught up in the excitement of the tussle, he all but forgot that he was clad only in his loincloth. That is, until the female managed to maneuver her body in such a way as to bring her knee squarely and painfully into contact with his unprotected groin. Roaring loudly, both in pain and shock, his grip on the ooman slackened ever so slightly thus allowing her to twist her way out of his hold. Before he could recover from the agonizing throb in his nether regions, the female had sprinted across the room and out through the door he had left open when he had silently entered to find her gaping at the view.

XXXXXXXXXX

Shelley tore down the hallway like a woman possessed. Dull, slate-gray walls, embossed with strange, alien markings, flew by unnoticed on either side of her as she ran. Unwilling to acknowledge the fact that she was most likely trapped with nowhere to go; she searched desperately for somewhere to hide. If she could only get away, find someplace to lay low and go over her options…perhaps the situation could still be salvaged.

_'Yeah, right...'_ Shelley would have laughed at her own foolish optimism had she not been so completely and utterly terrified. It was so painfully obvious. She was screwed.

She reached the end of the short passage quickly. Skidding around the corner, she found there was only one place for her to go. What appeared to be an open doorway at the end of the corridor beckoned to her. Suddenly aware of the sound of agitated footsteps thundering toward her and not really having any other choice in the matter, Shelley sprinted down the passageway and through the hatch, immediately sliding to a stop, her mind reeling as she took in the sight before her.

It was like running into a scene in a bad slasher film. The dim, overhead lights illuminated what she could only describe as a chamber of horrors. Gleaming, white skulls lined the walls, their empty eye sockets seeming to stare a hole right through her. Some she immediately identified as human. Others were so bizarre, so exotic in their strangeness, that she couldn't even loosely relate them to any creature she had knowledge of. She found herself both repulsed and fascinated as her eyes continued to drink in the scene.

Her eyes roved to the left. Along the far wall was what appeared to be some sort of work space. Sharp, surgical-like instruments were laid out neatly on a work bench next to a gore-filled mesh bag. The thing that grabbed Shelley's undivided attention, however, was the now clean, pearly-white human skull that she had the misfortune of becoming acquainted with in the hospital. It sat to the side of the mesh bag, the crooked smile of her once stalker seeming to mock her from its perch on the bench. She had escaped one hell, it seemed to imply, but had quite possibly stumbled into something much, much worse.

Shelley backpedaled furiously. Her bare feet slid on the slick, smooth floor causing her to lose her footing. Stumbling backwards and landing on her rear, she propelled herself backwards with her hands and feet, stopping only when her back came into contact with a pair of powerfully built legs. Stifling a startled cry, Shelley craned her neck back and immediately wished she hadn't.

Towering above her, its chest heaving and its alien features pulled into a look that she could only guess was one of rage, was the creature. Its golden eyes were narrowed underneath its prominent brow, the muscles in its jaws clenched visibly and the four crab-like appendages that framed its inner mouth shook slightly with the tension as if it were barely holding itself back from ripping her limb from limb. A low, menacing growl vibrated the air as the creature looked down upon her, flexing its hands.

Another sound filled the room then, mournful and frightened. It caused a shudder to work its way down her spine. It took Shelley a moment to realize that the keening sound was coming from her. That was all she had time to register as, in the next instant, the creature lunged at her with a ferocious roar.

XXXXXXXXXX

The female's scream drown out his roar as he threw himself forward on top of her before she could even think to move. Using his superior strength, he attempted to pin the ooman to the floor beneath them without crushing her. She bucked and thrashed violently under him, nearly managing to wiggle free, prompting him to bring one arm around her neck in a loose choke hold to keep her immobile. Flipping her over for greater control, he eased his weight down upon her back, wary of how very small and fragile she felt under him

"Get the fuck off of me, you bastard!" The female, forced onto her stomach, balled her small fists and beat at the arm encircling her neck in vain. "

"_You struggle, still_?" His mandibles quirked into a smirk as the female continued to fight and curse. The ooman was nothing if not spirited. "_Can you not see the battle is lost_?"

She stilled at his words and for a moment he believed with some disappointment that she had given up. The sudden pain in his forearm told a different story, however. He bellowed in surprise at the feeling of her blunt teeth sinking into his flesh. Barely restraining the impulse to bash her in the back of the head with his fist, he instead settled for wrapping his free arm around her head and forcing her to bend her neck back painfully. The strain on her neck and shoulders becoming so great that the female had no choice other than to let go.

Seizing the chance, he eased up off of her slightly, flipping her back onto her back and settling his weight on her chest. He felt the fight leave her then, she was either exhausted or finally convinced that her resistence was for naught. Her body went slack underneath his, her head hitting the floor with a dull thud as she went limp. Seconds ticked by until he was convinced she truly had given up her struggle. He took the opportunity to address her while she was immobilized, delving into his limited knowledge of the language she spoke to find some words that she might possibly understand.

"Buh-neh..." He lowered his face to hers until only centimeters separated them. "Ssst'ahp. N'oh mo'ahr f'ite. N'oh h'ert."

To Be Continued...

**Author's Note: I'm a little bit happier with this chapter than I was the last one. As you can see, this relationship isn't off to a very good start... Somebody get Mr. Preddy a band aid and an icepack for his package! I feel like I kind of rushed the very end but I got fed up and couldn't be bothered with it anymore. I gave up. Eventually I'll get this all cut and pasted back together in its original format and all will be good with the world. Don't ask me what he said there...I honestly have no idea...**

**Thank you to everyone who read the last one!**

**Blood Shifter2: I'm sure it wasn't the best morning the poor woman has ever had. Thanks!**

**random hyper person: I'm sorry about the cliffy. I hope this made up for it some.**

**Zarsthor: I'm glad you've enjoyed the story so far. Thanks!**

**SesshiraRayu: I hope she doesn't have a heart attack. It would ruin the whole story!**

**QuickStar: GAH! I've done that before, too! Then someone PM'd me and was like, "Tet...this makes absolutely no sense. What the hell are you talking about???" Thankfully, I was able to find the right one and correct my mistake, lol. I'm also glad that I haven't bored you to tears yet! Thanks for reading!**

**tain89: Thanks. Unfortunately, I don't think her day is going to get any better anytime soon.**

**crket: Lol! Devious thoughts, huh? It's not very juicy right now...but who knows what could happen in the future!**

**HeartHunter: I'm glad you like my meager, little offering. I hope you enjoyed the update!**

**Aremis: Why, thank you very much!**

**Syver'ti: I'm happy I could make you laugh! I like a little humor here and there. I figured, hey, where he comes from he's probably never encountered a fainting female before. His first response to something like that might be along the lines of, "Crap...I killed it." Thanks for reading!**

**Till next we meet!**

**Amentet**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I'm not dead contrary to popular belief! I know its been awhile (way to long, actually) but I still don't own Predator. It really, really isn't fair. I do, however, claim all my own original characters and my plot for this pile of crap for whatever its worth. **

**FYI...Mr. Preddy still isn't very fluent in the English language but he'll try his best. When he speaks in his own language, his words will be translated into **_**italics**_** for those of us who didn't grow up speaking Predator. **

**Dedication: I would like to dedicate the following chapter to predator808 who has been very persistent in asking me for an update for however long its been since I updated the last time. I know this has been a long time coming and I really appreciate that you enjoy the story so much. Thank you!**

Catch and Release

Chapter 16

The female lay perfectly still beneath him, pinned to the floor by his greater weight. The scent of her fear hung heavy in the air of the trophy room. Pressed against her as he was, he could feel the furious pounding of her heart against his own chest and each of her warm, ragged breaths against the skin of his neck every time she exhaled. Her lips, flecked green with his phosphorescent blood, trembled. The moisture that had been gathered in her eyes had finally spilled over and ran down her cheeks in tiny streams as she quietly cried. His words, it seemed, had done little to reassure her that she wouldn't be harmed. He again cursed himself for not taking more care to learn the language spoken in the region of the ooman planet she hailed from.

He shifted a bit uncomfortably above her. His unprotected groin still achingly throbbed in time to his own heart and his forearm stung where she had sank her dull, blunt teeth into him. Was sating his curiosity about the odd, little creature really worth this much trouble? Certainly his Sire wouldn't approve of his current situation. He could almost hear the older warrior's voice echoing in his head, admonishing him and urging him to release the ooman back into the wild of her native habitat where she could do as nature intended and perform her procreative duty.

_"She is nothing but a Lou-dte Kalei,"_ his Sire would say, _"Good only to breed, thus ensuring the survival of the species and a steady supply of game for the enjoyment of future Hunters. Release her and let nature take its course." _

The Hunter rumbled deep in his chest. Releasing the ooman back into the wild was the right thing to do, yes, but there were other things that needed to be taken into consideration. He had taken the female from the ooman medical establishment without so much as a second thought. No doubt the other oomans, especially the ooman Arbiters whom he had watched question her for some time upon her arrival, would be looking for her in connection to the Bad Blood he had disposed of in the forest. He had no fear of the oomans but he didn't like the potential inconvenience ooman authorities could cause. The fact that he was already well out of her home planet's orbit and to go back now would delay his return trip to the clan ship and his highly anticipated rendezvous with a certain female made the decision for him. It simply wasn't practical to release her, he told himself. He would have to find an alternative method of dealing with the situation.

The female whimpered softy beneath him, drawing his attention back. His banded locks clattered together as he tilted his head and trilled quietly. _"Are you done fighting against me, female?"_

When she didn't respond, only continued to lie limply beneath him and sob quietly, he cautiously pushed himself away from her ready to pin her back to the floor if need be. As moved himself up to rest on his elbows, the familiar scent of fresh blood hit him. His brow furrowed as his eyes locked onto a crimson stain spreading across the front of the female's thin gown. She was bleeding and it took him a moment to recall that he had inadvertently slashed her across the chest with his talons during the confrontation with the male.

_"You've reopened your wounds." _He prattled low in his throat and pushed himself up into a crouch, still hovering over her. His yellow eyes flicked over toward the area where he prepared his trophies and back to the female. He kept a spare med kit beneath the work space on the off chance that he injure himself whilst cleaning his kills. Kainde Amedha could be especially tricky to prepare for the trophy case if one did not know what they were doing or were not careful. Their acidic blood had the potential to easily eat away flesh before you even had a chance to realize you had gotten it on yourself. It was better to be prepared than to have to go through the rest of life with a stump for a hand because you had no neutralizer ready on standby to treat exposure.

For a moment, he contemplated the merits of using the kit's contents to seal the ooman's wounds. It was possible to do more harm than good as most of the agents it contained were designed to work with a Yautja's biochemistry. Still, he figured that, whatever the outcome, it would no doubt be preferable to having a bleeding ooman wandering around and contaminating his ship with its biological fluids. He could have probably done with a shot of antibiotics, himself, seeing as how the female had drawn blood. Paya only knew what kinds of diseases the female may be harboring in that strange mouth of hers and he certainly didn't care to find out by contracting any.

With a huff, he seized the female carefully by her upper arm, wary of how thin and fragile the extremity felt in his grasp, and hauled her to her feet as he stood. He looked down upon her, regarding her in very much the same way one would regard a badly behaved pet. His mandibles clacked together in irritation. _"You haven't been awake a cycle and are already more trouble than you are worth."_

The ooman made a strangled sound as he pulled her towards him and tried to twist away with renewed vigor. "Let me go!"

"St'ahp f'ite," he barked at her in sharp reprimand and gave her a rough shake. It was enough to get her attention and cause her to cease her struggles. He seized the opportunity and gestured toward her chest where blood had soaked through her gown. "Thwei." He then gestured toward his work space and then himself. "St'ahp thwei."

The female's frightened eyes wandered in the direction he had indicated and took in the scene before her. His bag of fresh, uncleaned trophies glinted wetly in the overhead light. His tools, deadly-looking instruments of horror to the untrained novice, were laid out neatly beside it, waiting for him to use. The one skull he had taken the time to prepare, that of the Bad Blood, grinned at them from its perch.

"Buh-neh, come."

"No." The ooman's eyes widened and she shook her head vigorously back and forth as he tried to lead her toward the work bench. Her small fingers pried at his larger ones in an vain attempt to free her arm. "No, no, no..."

Ignoring her protests, he pulled her along behind him as he moved toward the work bench. _"Stubborn animal..."_

"No! You're not going to practice your fucking taxidermy on me!" The female locked her knees and jerked her body violently in the opposite direction, "Let go of me, you fucking asshole!"

He turned sharply to look down at her, a threatening growl working its way out of his throat, _"Your struggles hurt no one but yourself and I will not have you bleeding all over everyth-..."_

"Fuck you, motherfucker!" The ooman moved quickly. Her small hand shot out to latch onto one of his lower mandibles before he even registered what was happening. The reaction was intense and instantaneous as she tightened her grip on the appendage and bent it backwards in its socket with all of her might.

His bellow of pain was deafening inside the enclosed space. He snapped his head sharply in her direction, gnashing his inner teeth together. Catching her fingers in his maw, he bit down, eliciting a cry of pain from the ooman and causing her to relinquish her death grip on his mandible. He snarled menacingly as he fisted the front of her thin gown and tore it away from her body. Angry and no longer concerned about careful handling, he picked her up by the neck and slammed her roughly down onto the work space next to his most recent trophies and pinned her there with his upper body. "L'ulij-bpe ooman!"

"Get off of me!" The ooman continued to hiss and spit at him as he groped beneath the work bench with one hand for the spare med kit.

_"You will learn to behave if you want to live," _he flexed his injured mandible as he slammed the med kit down next to her head. Deftly opening it with one hand he dumped out the contents. Tossing aside the surgical blade and the extractor, he seized his burner, a packet of a powder-like substance along with a tube antiseptic. Quickly, he prepared the cauterizing gel before turning his attention back to the female. _"Brace yourself, ooman. This will hurt...a lot."_

To be continued...

**Author's Note: I've been trying really, really hard to get back to this story but life pretty much turned to crap and I had a few things I had to deal with first. I know that I always hate it when I get really into a story and the author disappears off the face of the earth and leaves you hanging. So, I say again...I'M SORRY! It wasn't my intention to take so long to update. I hope you all can look past my neglect of this story and get some enjoyment out of this latest update. I know its extremely short and really not my best work to date, but I am trying to get back into my groove. Any ideas or suggestions are always appreciated! **

**As always, thank you to everyone who was kind enough to review the last chapter:**

**Zarsthor- Happy that I was able to make you grin! I'm glad you enjoyed the description of the trophy room. I, too, often wondered why a species would hunt another species for sport if they saw them as so similar to themselves. I'm just throwing it out there that maybe to them we're just animals. Highly intelligent animals, but animals just the same. **

**Solosan: I'm almost afraid of what you have to say since it took me so long to update. I am however very happy that you enjoyed the last chapter. I shall now go and lock myself in my bathroom...just in case. **

**HeartHunter: Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed! **

**Citizen Cobalt 1: I bet he wished he had a Yaut to English Dictionary on hand. Thanks for reading! **

**tain89: Thank you! They've got a ways to go that's for sure. **

**Aremis: I'm sorry I always leave off at the good parts but I like to keep you guessing! Poor Preddy's groin...its going to be a long trip home. **

**Shadowdog85: Thanks! I'm glad you like it! **

**olpchick: Aww...thank you! **

**The Royal Frog: I'm not sure who to feel sorry for at this point. I too sort of have a thing for giant, muscled alien hunters... **

**syverasazyn: Scooby dooby doo! **

**Cyrosian: I'm glad you like. Did you know that it is estimated that there are about 6000 spoken languages on the planet? English is ranked 3rd in number of speakers. That means, depending on what part of the world Mr. Preddy prefers to hunt, he would have a greater probability of running into someone who spoke Mandarin Chinese or Spanish! So, he may not be familiar with the English language but may be quite familiar with some of Earth's other native tongues. Again, this would depend upon which areas he is prone to visiting. **

**Silver Fox Trot: I'm glad you like my lowly, little story! I hope you've enjoyed this latest update as well. **

**Ana Shadow Wolf: Thank you! I guess time will tell if Mr. Preddy and Shelley aka 'Buh-neh' will be able to overcome the language barrier. **

**IchigoXKisshu4eva: I hope you enjoyed the update. Thanks! **

**riah riddle: One can only hope... **

**QuickStar: Update! Yay! LOL... **

**Yautja's Blooded Pet: Giggle and Squee? I did good! **

**thevessel: I wouldn't say its the best...but I'm glad you like it! **

**Kunoichi 008: Thank you! I am trying so, so hard not to Mary Sue 'Buh-neh'. If at any time you feel I'm going down that path, feel free to give me a swift kick to the hind end =) **

**sorrelshift: I'm working on getting there...hopefully. I'm glad you liked and I hope you liked this one as well. **

**SilentWatcher: Thank you! **

**Captain Razz: Thanks! I believe I did read your story some time ago. I enjoyed it very much! **

**: Thank you very much! **

**predator808: Everyone should be thanking YOU for this update! Thanks so much for reading and for sticking with me for so long. Your patience is greatly appreciated!**

**Standout4Christ: Are you looking for a job as a translator? Lol! I know...I really have to make up for lost time.**

**Possumpie: I'm not liking when I last updated either. I'm hiring you and the above reviewer as English/Yautja translators, lol. I'm not sure what an Echidna is but I really hope they don't eat all my cookies...**

**backwaterplanet: Consider it done!**

**mckeown: I'm gonna try to finish but if for some reason or another I can't, I'll let you know =)**

**Quills in blood red ink: Dude! I just did! Lol!**

**GypsyWitchBaby: Thanks! I'm trying!**

**Elorrra87: I do feel ashamed. Very, very ashamed. I did take your advice, btw. I watched the new Predator movie. Very inspiring!**

**Till the next chapter!  
**

**~Tet**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: Life really isn't fair. To prove this statement as fact, I will throw out there that I still do not own Predator. I am, however, the proud parent of Bunny/Shelley, Mr. Pred-Man, and the late Psychotic Fudd (RIPieces). **

**FYI...Mr. Pred-Man no speak Engrish. We very sorry. We translate...put in **_**intallics**_**. Thank you. Bye, bye. **

Catch and Release

Chapter 17

Shelley's eyes slowly fluttered open only to be met with more darkness. The chill of the cold, metal countertop against her naked back was in sharp contrast to the deep burning sensation that seemed to radiate from her left collar bone and down between her breasts. She had passed out, she realized, as she clumsily pushed herself up into a sitting position. Her last conscious memory, that of the creature ripping away her thin hospital gown and slamming her forcefully down upon the workbench, only to smear her torn open wounds full of a foul-smelling, blue gel, made her shudder. The pain the corrosive substance had caused her had been indescribable and something that she prayed she would never have to experience ever again. It had felt to her as if the monster had doused her in gasoline and set her on fire. She had screamed long and loud while her captor seemed to delight in kneading the caustic gel down into the raw, shallow gouges in her flesh.

She gingerly pressed one trembling hand against her chest, feeling what she assumed was the dried gel, and hopefully not her seared skin, flake off beneath her palm. Carefully, she prodded one of the gashes with the tip of her index finger and flinched, a hiss of pain escaping from between chapped lips as the burning throb intensified at her touch. The wound under her fingers now felt more like a raised, angry welt than a laceration. Whatever the monster had rubbed upon her had apparently cauterized her wounds, leaving the four slashes to throb painfully in time to her racing heart. The burning feeling seemed to penetrate deep beneath the skin of her chest, almost to the bone it seemed. She wished there was enough light in the room to examine her wounds but, then again, as terribly as they hurt, she was almost afraid to look.. Oh, what she wouldn't have done for one of those little blue pills the nurse at the hospital had readily available on hand.

The fact that she was nearly naked, except for the pair of white, cotton hospital issued underwear she had been given to replace the ones she had been wearing in the woods, suddenly dawned on her and caused a brief flash of panic. To be helpless in a situation was one thing. To be naked and helpless brought the terror to a whole new level. Whimpering in pain, she groped desperately around herself in search of her discarded gown. Finding it balled up in a wad behind her, she let out a sigh of relief which was quickly replaces by a sob of dismay when she realized the flimsy garment had been nearly torn in two by the monster when it had assaulted her. Fighting back hot tears, she blindly knotted the thin material back together as best she could in the dark. Once satisfied that the tattered frock would more or less cover her nudity, she slipped the shredded hospital garb back over her head.

As her eyes gradually began to adjust to the lack of light in the dim chamber, she was able to make out the pale outlines of the assorted skulls and other trophies that adorned the walls and shelf space. Smooth, white bone glinted dully as dark, eyeless sockets seemed to appraise her from above. Some of the bones, exotic as they were, had a sort of grotesque, intriguing quality about them and she _almost_ wished she could look at them more closely were she not in danger of life and limb. Others, namely the several human occupants of the trophy wall, terrfied her to no end and she found herself wondering if the creature that now held her hostage had been the one to dispatch them. The little voice in the back of her mind, her own personal herald of doom and gloom, assured her that indeed it was.

Looking apprehensively around the shadowy room and seeing the sheer quantity of skulls and other bones for the first time, understanding slowly began to dawn on her. It was with a shiver that her mind made the connection. The monster was a collector, much like her tormentor in the woods had been, and the chamber of horrors she currently resided in was its collection and from what she could see, the creature had been collecting for quite some time. Her head swam sickeningly at the realization that she could very well end up mounted and polished just like the unfortunate creatures that surrounded her.

That thought alone begged the question: Why was she still alive? Why hadn't the creature already killed her and put her on display? In what other capacity could she serve other than a wall ornament? Her imagination took off in sickening directions as she contemplated the answer to that question and she wondered if she would have been any better off letting the man in the woods kill her when he had the chance. She remembered her mother once saying something along the lines of the devil you know being better than the devil you didn't. At least she had known what to expect from the homocidal lunatic in the woods. Death had been a certainty. There was nothing absolutely certain about her current situation and for her that was scariest thing of all.

Apprehensive and no longer able to bear the lifeless, empty stares of the dead around her, she pushed herself off of the counter top. A sound of pain escaped from between her lips when her injured feet made a jarring contact with the floor beneath her. She stumbled a few feet across the room before finding herself brought up short as something tightened uncomfortably around her right ankle, cutting into her skin and causing her to lose her footing.

"Gah!" With a jerk of surprise, she crashed to her knees. Groping frantically at her bound ankle, she found it secured with what appeared to be some sort of thin, woven wire. Giving an experimental tug seemed to do nothing more than tighten the loop around her extremity and bury the wire deeper into her flesh. Fresh panic welled up inside of her. Clamoring on her hands and knees, she followed the length of the wire to where it was securely attached to a metal eyelet in the wall beneath the workbench she had been lying on. She had been leashed, it seemed; tethered inside a room that even her worst nightmares couldn't compare with.

"No..." Shelley gave the line another tug in vain as tears sprung into her eyes. "Please, God, no..."

To be continued...

**Author's Note: I sincerely apologize for the gap between this chapter and the last one. It seems that everytime I got a chance to sit down and write something else popped up that needed doing. I promise I haven't abandoned it. Its just been neglected a bit. Hopefully, I can get back into it full swing here in the near future. As always, your comments are greatly appreciated. I do read them all and I do give all of your ideas consideration as I continue to write this story. **

**P.S. **

**Sorry this is so short!**

**Many thanks to those who took the time to review the previous chapter! **

**Yautja's Blooded Pet: I'm trying really hard to keep everyone sort of 'in character'. I'm not a huge fan of Mary Sue's and Angelic Yautja's, lol. Where is the fun in that? Still, feel free to kick me in the butt if I meander off track. Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed the update!**

**Dapsy: Here is more...more! LOL! Thanks for reading!**

**Kit Williams: Thank you for your kind review. *eyes Fido wearily* I do hope you know, there are leash laws...**

**kittykat6625: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the update!**

**dreamerblvd: Why, tyvm!**

**Virivie: Sorry for the delay in updates. It is a HUGE misunderstanding, lol.**

**Elf-Warrior-13: Thank you! I think a little hillarity is good once in a while! **

**Linda Chicana: You would think he would have come prepared but no...silly Yautja. **

**Possumpie: Awww! Echidnas are adorable! However, I am eternally thankful that they didn't steal my cookies. **

**The Royal Frog: You are too, too kind =) YOU are a talented writer! **

**Dark Lord Yomi: Glad you're enjoying my "shindig", lol. I thought I was the only one who ever used that word. Most people look at me like, "Huh?". I do feel kinda bad about Preddy's groin, though... **

**dramallama: Adorably creepy? Love it! Thanks! **

**The Silent Hunter: Don't flip out! We don't want to traumatize the sister and the room-mate. That wouldn't be good. Nope. Not at all. Oh! I LOVE random reviews, lol. **

**e-dowely: Thank you! I'm glad you like! **

**Madura: Thanks a lot. I appreciate it. I'm glad you are enjoying the story! **

**Teddy-wabbitz: Nope, luck is definitely NOT on Shelley's side. Sorry about the whole creepy Bunny thing, lol. **

**predator808: Sex? Where? Oh...you mean am I gonna put any in this story? Geez! You had me all excited there for a minute, lol. **

**QuickStar: Gawh! I love you, too! LOL! **

**Aremis: Thank you very much! I'm glad you think so! **

**Cyrosian: Thanks! Life is 'eh', but its getting better =) **

**memellowchick: I hope you enjoyed the update. **

**Citizen Cobalt 1: Yes! I live! Perhaps another Pred would help him out if he asked nicely...after they finished ROTFLMAO at him. =P **

**Legal Humor: Awww! I'm glad you considered my update to be one of the "good things" that happened to you! That's awesome! I hope you enjoyed this update as well. **

**IchigoXKisshu4eva: I was sad when I had to stop, too. I'm glad you like the story but please don't send your Xeno after me...I can't write if I'm dead, lol. Hope you enjoyed the update! **

**I hope I got everyone. If I left you out, feel free to give me a poke. I hope to see you all again sooner the next time. Till we meet again, **

**Tet**


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